This Crude Matter
by Ynyr
Summary: A sequel to "The Voyage of the Starship Hedwig". After Emperor Palpatine orders his death, Harry Potter has no choice but to join the Rebel Alliance. ABANDONED
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**: This is a sequel to _The Voyage of the Starship Hedwig_, which takes place from 1998 to 2114. In this **Alternate Universe** the events of the _Star__ Wars, Episode IV_ take place in 2115, and they happen right here in the Milky Way Galaxy.

* * *

><p>"There is a great disturbance in the Force."<p>

Darth Vader had long since come to hate those words and what they signified.

When he first accepted Emperor Palpatine's offer to become a Sith, he had been driven by the need to save his wife, Padme. But that had been far from his only reason. During the Clone Wars he had grown increasingly disgusted with the corruption and weakness of the Republic. The Emperor's New Order held the promise of a better future, even for a fatherless slave from an insignificant world like Tatooine. It also crossed his mind that despite the Emperor's claims of immortality, he was an old man and would soon need a successor. To this day Vader often dreamed of ruling the Empire with Padme and their children by his side.

Yet every morning those dreams turned to ash. Padme was dead, the New Order was just as corrupt as the old Republic, and he had little if any real political power.

For instance the latest intelligence reports suggested that the Rebel Alliance was massing for an attack. To Vader the course of action seemed clear: arrest the known Rebel leaders in the Imperial Senate, question them until they revealed the location of the Rebel's hidden base, and then launch a preemptive strike with a large fleet of Star Destroyers.

However the Emperor had nothing but scorn for his suggestions. The existence of the Rebel Alliance allowed the New Order to justify its constant political oppression, and more importantly the construction of the Death Star. Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Garm Bel Iblis would remain at liberty because they unwittingly served to advance the Emperor's political agenda.

This strategy had worked perfectly during the Clone Wars, hadn't it?

Vader disagreed. He felt the military risks outweighed possible political rewards, but his advice was ignored. Instead of crushing the Rebellion, he had been sent on a mission deep into the Unknown Regions. Why? To hunt down another pathetic Jedi. No, using that title was being far too generous. This barbarian had probably stumbled upon his Force abilities by accident, and had no real concept of what he was doing. More than likely his fellow barbarians viewed him as a wizard or even a god.

Dealing with such a minor annoyance was not worth of a Sith. Of course that was why the Emperor had sent him on this lengthy mission. To remind his apprentice that he was not a true Sith Lord, and never would be until he found the strength needed to kill his Master and take his place. Being reminded of one's inadequacies was never a pleasant experience, which is why it was one of the Emperor's preferred teaching methods.

"What have your scans revealed?" Vader demanded.

When the Star Destroyer _Devastator_ arrived at the coördinates the Emperor provided, they found nothing but a barren solar system. After an extensive search the only sign of life was a small spherical object orbiting one of the inner planets. At first Captain Bolvan had dismissed it as nothing more an asteroid since it was producing no artificial radiation. Vader had been inclined to agree, but then he reached out with the Force and felt the presence which had so unnerved the Emperor. The _Devastator_ had immediately plotted an intercept course, but even at this close range the sensors couldn't provided them with any useful information.

"We are still receiving conflicting readings," Captain Bolvan replied. "At times the sensors are registering are no more than twenty life-forms, but at other times are they registering over two thousand. That is plainly impossible for a such a small ship, so we are running a full diagnostic on the _Devastator's_ computer systems."

"Does the alien ship have weapons of any kind?"

"If it does, they are unlike any we have encountered before. Of course we are in the Unknown Regions."

"True, which means beginning it into the hanger bay with a tractor beam is out of the question," Vader mused. "Prepare an assault shuttle and a full platoon of Spacetroopers. I want that ship taken intact, and its crew is to be captured alive. Is that perfectly clear, Captain Bolvan?"

"Yes... my Lord."

Like many of the older officers, Bolvan deeply resented the absolute power the Emperor's apprentice had over the Imperial Navy. Vader had already marked the clumsy fool for execution, but had planned on waiting until this mission was over before carrying out the sentence. Perhaps he would have to reconsider that decision.

Preparing a platoon of Spacetroopers for combat took time. Their cybernetic armor was unwieldy, and loading them into Gamma-class assault shuttle required the services over a hundred skilled technicians. Only in outer space did the Spacetroopers reveal their deadly grace, which was the product of years of harsh training.

It was during this long wait when Vader felt the presence of an intruder on the _Devastator_. The Emperor was right: whoever this Force-sensitive was, he was powerful. Almost as powerful as Vader himself. And somehow he had made it aboard without being detected by any of the Star Destroyer's external or internal sensors. So they might be dealing with a trained Jedi after all. Or maybe these barbarians had developed a practical cloaking device. The Emperor claimed that it was possible, but he refuse to share any details with the Imperial Navy. Or with his trusted apprentice.

"We have an intruder on deck twenty... eight."

"Are you sure?"

That was the end of Captain Bolvan. Vader was so angry that instead of suffocating the fool, he crushed the Captain's entire skull into a bloody pulp. Normally he tried to avoid that, since removing the stains from the floor of the bridge would take a sizable cleaning crew. Vader immediately dismissed the fresh corpse from his mind and turned to Bolvan's second-in-command. Mulchive Wermis was coward, but an obedient coward. That was all he required at the moment.

"Captain Wermis, we have an intruder on deck twenty-eight. I require the services of a RA-7 protocol droid, so have one removed from storage."

"At once, my Lord."

The _Devastator's_ main computer was more than capable of handling any translation duties, but protocol droids were specifically design to place barbarians at ease. Any intelligence this alien provided before his inevitable death would make Vader's job that much easier. The Emperor had given orders that the Force-sensitive's home world was to be located at once. Located, and then completely sterilized.

"Tell the 501st Legion to evacuate and seal-off the surrounding decks, but under no circumstances are they to attack the intruder. I must face him. Alone."

* * *

><p>2 February 2114<p>

In his first few seconds aboard the alien starship Harry Potter discovered two important facts. First, these aliens had developed an artificial gravity technology that didn't rely on magic. Second, the strange bulging tower they had seen from the _Hedwig_ was located at the top of the alien starship, not at the bottom. So when Harry apparated over to greet the newcomers he ending-up on the ceiling. The three-meter drop was painful, especially since the floor below was made out of solid metal.

Over the next few minutes Harry was able to gather some more basic facts. Since he hadn't suffocated to death the aliens must breathe oxygen. The gravity was neither too heavy nor too light, which suggested they came from a planet similar to Earth. The corridor he was standing was made out of familiar metal alloys, and the various control panels (which didn't work) were right at eye-level. In many ways these aliens seemed quite similar to human beings.

His guess was confirmed about ten minutes later when two figures emerged from a locked door at the end of the corridor. They both had two arms, two legs, and a longish torso crowned by a single head. At first glance he couldn't decide if they were dressed in armor or if they were advanced robots. A subtle probe of magic answered that question. The silver one with the insect-like head turned out to be a robot. Underneath its metallic skin was nothing but circuitry and slim hydraulic motors that served as muscles.

The taller one in black was definitely an organic being of some kind. His mechanical armor which came complete with a cape, leather trousers, and an extra-large codpiece. Yes, that was definitely a male. The armor had a noisy breathing filter which was probably meant to protect the alien from any viruses or bacteria or parasites Harry might be carrying. Not everyone had a Philosopher's Stone in their intestines to protect them from that sort of thing.

The alien also had strong mental shields his magic couldn't penetrate, so Legilimency wasn't going to be of any use in establishing communications.

"Greetings, my name is Harry Potter. I come in peace."

_That sounded incredible lame_, Harry thought to himself. Hermione had better be right about the aliens having a universal translator, or this was going to be an awkward visit.

The silver robot stepped forward and spoke. Its tone was calm and pleasant, but its words were nothing more than gibberish. The alien in black kept at a safe distance, and said nothing. Even so, Harry was certain his every move was being closely scrutinized by whoever was hiding beneath that strange, stylized mask.

"I'm guessing that neither of you speaks English. That sucks."

Again the silver robot spoke, but this time it sounded less like gibberish and more like a foreign language from back on Earth. Maybe Hermione had been right after all. Maybe these aliens did have a universal translator, but it couldn't provide them with automatic translations. Instead this robot first needed to gather vocabulary and grammar so it could build a working linguistic database.

This theory gave Harry an idea. Slowly he drew his wand from its holster. The robot seemed unconcerned, but the alien had a very subtle reaction. His leather-gloved hand moved several millimeters towards an oddly shaped cylinder that was attached to his belt. Was that cylinder a weapon? More than likely.

Harry realized that using any magic might be seen as a provocative act, but the quicker he established communications the better. So he took a deep breath and began using magical fire to write letters in the air. It was the same trick a young Tom Riddle had used all those years ago in the Chamber of Secrets. Again the tall alien reached towards the cylinder hanging from its belt, but after he saw what Harry was doing his hand slowly fell back to a resting position.

"Greetings, my name is Harry Potter."

This time in addition to speaking he was pointing his wand at each of the flaming words. The sliver robot spoke again, and to Harry's untrained ear it did sound a bit clearer. Lacking any better ideas, he continued with this simple teaching method. First he wrote out the alphabet, and then the first twenty numbers. After that he moved on to body parts, and by the time he was pointed out his elbow joint the robot was already speaking passable English. It claimed to be from the "Galaxy Government". Their "Star Undoer" only reached this place a "little time ago", and they were "happy" to learn about Harry's species.

As their conversation progressed the robot's speech improved. The alien continued to said nothing, but those huge black eyes never wavered. The whole situation was starting to make Harry nervous. Especially since the robot kept pressing him for information about his "birth planet", and if there were any other ships in the area. Rather than let the robot continue to dominate the conversation, Harry started asked questions of his own.

"You know my name. What do I call you and your companion?"

The robot claimed to be a RA-7 "manner machine". Harry really wasn't interested and continued asking for the alien's name. After stalling for several minutes the robot finally introduced "Master Vader", who was in command of this "Star Undoer". The name set Harry back on his heels. Its similarity to a certain Dark Lord from his past could have been nothing more than a cosmic joke, but in some way he was sure that it wasn't. All his finely honed instincts were screaming that his life was in danger.

"Master Vader" must have noticed the change in his demeanor. The alien again reached for his cylinder-shaped weapon, but this time his hand didn't stop short. Harry wasn't surprised when a red light emerged from the end of the cylinder. He was surprised that the red light suddenly froze in place. The bloody thing wasn't a laser, it was a sword.

And this Vader certainly knew how to use it. With a grace that belied his bulky size, the alien leapt forward clearly intending to kill. Not to incapacitate. To kill.

Fortunately for Harry, he had been fighting duels for the past one-hundred and twenty years. He raised his old phoenix-feather wand high in the air and cast a feeble Stunner. At the same time he cast a Killing Curse with the invisible Elder Wand, which he held down by his left thigh. The feint worked. While Vader was busy deflecting the Stunner with his sword of light, the Killing Curse struck the center of his extra-large codpiece.

As the dead alien tumbled to the floor, Harry began thinking about how royally screwed he was. He had just murdered the "Master" of this starship, and a plea of self-defense wasn't going to cut it. In a flash he sent his stag Patronus to the _Hedwig_, ordering the crew to seize control of alien's "Star Undoer". It probably... no, it was a suicide mission, but it was also their only hope of surviving this disaster. Harry was sure that the _Hedwig_ was going to be attacked by these psychotic aliens.

If his people were going to die, he wanted them to die with a wand in their hand and a curse on their lips. That's how he intended to go.

His philosophical musings came to an abrupt end when he heard the dead alien start to breathe again. It was a terrifying sound. Harry responded by casting another Killing Curse, which produced a curious reaction. Up until this point Vader had been silent, but now he let loose with a scream of rage so powerful Harry could actually feel the sound waves passing through his body.

All those years ago Voldemort claimed that his mastery of the Dark Arts had made him immortal. He claimed that those who followed him were "Death Eaters", and that they had nothing to fear from the Grim Reaper. Those claims turned out to be nothing more than the idle boasts of a fool.

But out here in the cold darkness of outer space Harry had actually found a Dark Lord who **could** eat death. This corridor was too narrow for a proper duel, so he decided that a tactical retreat was his best option. Once he found some open space, he would show this Master Vader what a wizard was capable of.

* * *

><p>During his youth Anakin Skywalker had been trained by some of the greatest masters the Jedi Order had ever produced. Later after taking the name Darth Vader he had been train by the single greatest Sith Lord in history. He had traveled the length and breath of the galaxy fighting what seemed like an endless war against an endless stream of foes.<p>

In all that time he had never experienced anything like what the Force-sensitive had just unleashed. The sense of power of that green light had given him was almost overwhelming. It was if his very soul had merged with the Dark Side of the Force. This Harry Potter had accidentally discovered a technique that would finally allow Vader to kill his master, and take his place. All he had to do was capture Potter, and torture him until he revealed his secrets.

That was going to be a problem though, since he was now flying towards the lift at the end of the corridor. Jedi and Sith could use the Force to jump great distances, but to actually fly? Amazing.

Potter was full of surprises, but luckily he was no Sith. With a gesture Vader began suffocating the man, an action which caused him to crash into the floor.

As the enraged Potter looked back two separate beams of light emerged from the small wooden sticks he was holding. Vader deflected the one aim at him, but the RA-7 protocol droid was hit. Instead of exploding into deadly shrapnel, the droid transformed into a large reptile of some kind. At first Vader dismissed it as an illusion like those flaming words the barbarian had written in the air, but then one of the animal's sharp claws slammed him into a nearby wall. A casual stroke of his lightsaber ended the threat, but the situation was so bizarre it took him several seconds to recover. By the time he turn back towards his real target, Potter had already disappeared.

Vader quickly used the Force to activate the communicator located inside his helmet. "Captain Wermis."

"Yes, my Lord?"

"The intruder has escaped from deck twenty-eight. Alert the entire crew: I need him taken **alive**. Anyone who harms the intruder will answer to me personally. Has the platoon of Spacetroopers reached the alien ship yet?"

"They are almost in position to begin their assault."

"Good. Tell them their top priority now is to disable the ship's engines. The aliens can not be allowed to escape from this system. The Spacetroopers may used their blasters if necessary, but I need hostages. As many as they can manage."

Vader then deactivated his communicator, and began studying the lift. Potter had blown a hole in the floor and escaped down into the shaft, an act which gave him access to nearly half of the Star Destroyer. Vader calmed himself and then reached out with the Force. Yes, there he was... and moving quickly.

As he leapt down into the shaft the man who was once known as Anakin Skywalker smiled beneath his expressionless mask.

_This is going to be fun_, he thought to himself.

* * *

><p>Admiral Luna Lovegood was frightened. Not only for herself, but also for her husband George and her wife Hermione. She was also frightened for Harry, who was being his usual idiotic but noble self. And for the rest of the crew of the <em>Hedwig<em>, who were so devoted to their tiny Admiral. And for the wizards and witches back home on Tau Ceti and New Hogwarts, who had no idea how badly the things were going for their side.

Despite all this, Luna was more than a little fascinated by their current situation. Given the level of technology needed to build a starship of this size, the weapons the clone soldiers in the white armor were using seemed rather... tame. They discharged what looked like plasma a very slow rate, especially when compared to a muggle laser. It was easy to block these "plasma bolts" with a Shield Charm, not that they had to do that very often. Thanks to their Disillusionment Charms the aliens had no idea who was attacking them.

"Why aren't their weapons more advanced?" Luna asked quietly as their group of about forty wizards and witches flew though the confusing maze of tunnels and compartments that made-up the interior of the alien's wedge-shaped starship.

"Because anything more powerful would start punching holes in the hull," George whispered from up ahead. "And that would allow all the oxygen to escape."

"Plus the low energy requirements of the weapons allows the clones soldiers to fire multiple shots without recharging their capacitors. Or whatever they called their power sources," a nervous Hermione added. "We've sent Harry over a dozen Patronus messages, so where the hell is he?"

"This starship is nearly two kilometers long," George told her as he picked off four more of the clone soldiers who wandered into view. "We'll probably never find him, or the others."

Luna agreed, but didn't say so out loud. There was already more than enough negative energy floating around.

Twenty minutes ago Harry's stag Patronus had arrived on the _Hedwig_ with news that the aliens were hostile, and that they should try to seize control of this extremely large starship. That was easier said than done, especially since everything over here was upside down. The crew of the _Hedwig_ numbered just under two thousand souls, all of whom had varying degrees of magical strength. When they apparated over to this metal monstrosity they ended-up scattered about at random. Everyone was lost, which made it impossible to coördinate the ongoing battle.

Meanwhile the aliens (who all looked more-or-less like human beings) seemed to number in the _tens_ of thousands, and they were all armed.

"Do you have any ideas why the soldiers are clones, but the ones in the dress uniforms are not?" Luna asked Hermione in an effort to distract her.

Everyone had been horrified when they removed the helmets from the first causalities. Despite the facial tattoos and wildly different hairstyles, all the soldiers in white armor were copies of a single, middle-aged man. He looked rather Polynesian.

"Throughout history foot soldiers were often viewed as expendable by their political masters, so using clones does make sense in a sick sort of way. And thanks to Harry's message we already knew these aliens are evil. I think," an uncertain Hermione replied. Harry's message had been short on details. Very short. "What I want to know is if this is a case of parallel evolution, or if the Earth is home to a lost colony of some ancient galactic civilization."

"Can we save the intellectual discussion for another time?" George hissed. "In case you haven't noticed there is a pack of wild Sasquatch up ahead, and they don't look friendly."

Luna though that was a bit of an understate. The brown Sasquatch (Or were they Yeti? There was a difference between the two.) had captured several of the clone soldiers. They (the Sasquatch or Yeti. They couldn't be Abominable Snowmen since their fur was brown.) were ripping their prisoner's arms and legs off. After living on the jungle planet of Tau Ceti for a century Luna had plenty of experience with dangerous predators, but this level of carnage was still a shocking sight.

"I think we should try to communicate with them. Perhaps they can help us. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"They don't look very friendly," George muttered as he hovered in place. "In fact they look like mindless beasts to me."

"I don't think so," Luna whispered. "Everyone stay here. Consider that an order from your commanding officer."

Before anyone could object, Luna flew ahead. Just before she reached the largest Sasquatch she dropped her Disillusionment Charm, and floated to the floor in front of him. The fur-covered, two-meter tall humanoid responded to her presence with a ferocious roar and a liberal amount of saliva, but he did not attack. Nor did any of the other Sasquatches. So her suspicions were correct: these were not mindless beasts. They just didn't like the clone soldiers and their officers—probably for the some reasons Harry didn't like them.

Luna attempted to discover why by looking "Bigfoot" directly in the eyes. Attempting Legilimency on an alien she knew nothing about was insane, but insane ideas were her forte. The images and sounds that flooded into her mind were confusing, but they were also very logical. These Sasquatches were highly intelligent beings, and spent most of their time working on complex machinery.

As she continued to search through Bigfoot's memories the images became more intense and painful. The Sasquatch had lived on a beautiful world full of towering forests, but they were attacked without provocation some time ago. After the invasion the dead were beyond counting, and their cities (which were made out of living trees) were reduced to burning ruins. Thousands had been chained, forced into overcrowded shuttles, and taken away.

They ended up on starships like this one, where life was brutal. The Sasquatches were forced to work until they dropped from exhaustion, feed half-rancid food, and housed in the most squalid conditions imaginable. The slightest act of rebellion was met with torture or death. The clone soldiers actually skinned the several of Sasquatch they were still alive, and made the others to watched as a form of punishment. No wonder they were so eager for revenge.

Overcome with emotion, a weeping Luna threw herself forward and wrapped Bigfoot in a tight hug. The other Sasquatches were confused by her gesture, and began growling at each other. She had no idea what they were saying, but it was obviously a complex language of some kind. Their guttural voices had a beautiful, almost musical quality that she found soothing.

"What are you going!" George hissed. He and Hermione had disobeyed her orders, and flown up to be by their wife's side.

"They're all slaves," Luna told them as she continued to hug Bigfoot. "Their planet was attacked several years ago, and the survivors were taken away to serve as mechanics on starships like this all across the galaxy."

"If you are right, then we must help them," a still-nervous Hermione said as she looked around at all the bloody corpses littering the floor. "Are you sure that you're right?"

"The images I saw were pretty unambiguous."

A large group of clone soldiers picked that moment to coming storming out a nearby door. Luna, George, and Hermione responded with several nasty curses, while the Sasquatch used the weapons they had scavenged from the dead. It was a short and one-sided skirmish. Afterwords the Sasquatch started roaring, but to Luna they sounded like roars of joy. They also began patting the trio on the head with their huge paws. The roars grew even louder when the other forty wizards and witches drop their Disillusionment Charms.

"I think they like us," a stunned George remarked.

Bigfoot roared some more, and began gesturing down the corridor. Luna looked over at Hermione and George. "They want us to go with them. They know the layout of this starship, and they know how this technology works. I say we join forces."

Over the next hour an small army formed as their mixed group gathered more and more recruits. Other Sasquatches were being held in several large prison cells, and they were all liberated and given weapons. As the same time the more of the _Hedwig's _crew—guided by Patronus messages and enchanted mirrors—began rallying around their Admiral. This increasing-powerful army had no problem slaughtered the clone soldiers they came up against.

After climbing up over ten decks, the finally reached what looked like a futuristic recreation center. The Sasquatch ignored all the odd sporting and gaming equipment, and began sprinting towards the far side of the garishly-furnished room. Bigfoot began pointing at a heavy metal door with several strong locks on it. He clearly wanted them to open it with magic.

"They must be something fragile inside, which is why they don't want to risk using their energy weapons," Hermione reasoned.

"Here goes nothing," George muttered as he carefully unlocked the door with several complex charms.

The Sasquatch quickly made their way inside. The witches and wizards followed, but they soon stopped in their tracks. Luna had expected more prisoners—maybe even a group of Sasquatch child—but what they saw instead were dozens of terrified women wearing nothing but flimsy and transparent robes. A few were human, but most were exotic-looking aliens. They came in many different shapes, and their skin colors ranged all across the rainbow.

"This certainly looks and smells a brothel," George said. "It makes sense. A crew of this size they would need one if the commander didn't want a mutiny on his hands. Especially since there are few if any women onboard."

Bigfoot disappeared into one of the dark and secluded grottoes that lined the walls. He returned carrying a listless alien woman in his arms.

Luna couldn't decide if she had white skin with orange tattoos, or orange skin with white tattoos. Even more interesting was her head: there were two blue-and-white horns rising from the top, and three blue-and-white tentacles hanging down her back. The rest of her exquisite body looked quite human. Supple, but not too firm. Over the decades Luna had taken several female lovers, but none of them came close to matching this alien's physical perfection.

Hermione took out her wand and cast a Diagnostic Charm. "Why am I not surprised. These bastards must give their sex slaves a combination of several different drugs to keep them docile. I doubt the poor woman even knows where she is right now."

"Give her a massive dose of the Elixir of Life, and then cast a broad-spectrum Healing Spell on her."

"Luna, the Elixir of Life only works on magical beings."

"The Sasquatch brought us to her for a reason. I'm guessing that she is the local version of a witch. They trust her, and that's good enough for me. Do it."

"Fine. Please put her on the ground," Hermione told Bigfoot using a series of hand gestures. He promptly complied.

The healing process caused a number of painful spasms, but soon the fog lifted from the alien's large blue eyes. In less than a minute she was on her feet, stretching her muscles while conversing with the Sasquatch. She spoke the same language as the clone soldiers, but had no trouble understanding their roars.

Luna's theory about the alien being a witch of some kind was confirmed when a thin metal pipe came flying off the wall and into her waiting hand. The alien focused her attention on the ends of the pipe, and crushed them down into two sharp points using nothing but telekinesis. After dressing in a more appropriate outfit and having a few last words with Bigfoot, the orange alien began running towards the nearest lift. With another burst of telekinesis she ripped open the door and jumped down into the empty shaft.

"What in the name of Merlin just happened?" George asked.

"Shouldn't we follow her?" Hermione asked at the same time. "I'm not sure if that Healing Spell was completely effective."

Bigfoot roared and pointed in the opposite direction.

"I have a feeling she doesn't need our help," Luna said quietly. "But the Sasquatch do. Let's stick with them for time being."

* * *

><p>The duel had been long but not especially taxing.<p>

Vader had only traded sporadic blows with Force-sensitive called Harry Potter as they fought their way through the bowels of the _Devastator_. The man's abilities were impressive, but not too impressive. He could transmute matter in an instant, but Vader could dispatch the mindless creations just as quickly. Flying would have been of great use down on a planet, but it was less so in the confines of a Star Destroyer. The two small sticks the man was carrying could produce several unique energy beams, but none that couldn't be deflected by a lightsaber in the hands of an experienced Sith.

That last bit of information allowed Vader to discover man's true weakness. Unlike a trained Sith or Jedi, Potter lacked battle precognition. It was this unique ability which allowed a Force-sensitive to anticipate an enemy's attack, and to be in a position to stop it before it even occurs. The skill is what made the Sith and Jedi so feared in combat.

With this critical advantage Vader had been able to drive his opponent into a series of progressively weaker positions. Now Potter was cornered not far from the main hanger bay. He just about to maim the barbarian when an unexpected challenge came from the far side of the room.

"Obi-Wan was a fool to let you live. You will receive no such mercy from me."

Vader would have recolonized that voice anywhere. However turning his full attention towards Ahsoka Tano wasn't an option, since his whirling lightsaber was needed to hold off Potter's constant attacks. For years the captured Jedi had served as a pleasure slave for the 501st Legion, so how had she escaped from her artificial stupor? The Emperor had assured him that no Jedi could overcome the Sith Alchemy they used to subdued the Togruta. Her miraculous recovery must have something to do with Potter's sudden appearance onboard the _Devastator_.

"What a pleasant surprise. **Snips**."

As a Padawan Ahsoka had always been too emotional, and Vader was sure his taut would provoke a reckless charge. Instead the Jedi approached him cautiously as he continued to duel with Potter. Her only weapon was a metal staff with two sharpened ends, but what good would that do against a lightsaber?

Ahsoka answered his question by executing a skillful attack which emphasized her agility. Even before being encased in this walking metal tomb, he had never been able to match her in that area. Instead his combat style had always emphasized his superior strength, which he used to beat his opponents into utter submission. His former Padawan knew this and easily avoided his slashing lightsaber.

After a few minutes the strain of fighting two skillful opponents finally caught-up with Vader, and he overextended his right arm. He expected Ahsoka to exploit this error by wounding what remained of his charred body. Instead she jammed her staff into the ankle of his mechanical foot. She was trying to limit his mobility so Potter could finish him off, and her plan had an excellent chance of succeeding.

In desperation Vader activated his communicator, which he had thoughtlessly turned-off some time ago. "Captain Wermis, order all Stormtroopers to converge on my position at once."

His call for help was met by the angry roar of a Wookiee. The beasts must have escaped from their holding cells and seized control of the bridge. That was impossible. Wermis should have spaced the Wookiees the moment they escaped, so why hadn't he? Because he was a stupid coward, that's why. And who had just appointed him as the new Captain of the _Devastator_?

Suddenly Vader's mind was cast back to the volcanic world of Mustafar, where he had fought his last duel with Obi-Wan. At the end his former Master held the higher ground, but in his arrogance had attacked anyway. Now his arrogance had lead him into yet another disaster.

Imperial regulations clearly state that Wookiees are only to be used on Star Destroyers while they were safely docked at an Imperial shipyard. Vader had ignored those regulations, and brought a number of them along on this mission. Several systems on his flagship needed minor repairs, and he would have no trouble controlling a group of Wookiees. Any Captain of the Imperial Navy who had taken a similar action would have been court-marshaled and executed within a matter of days.

But not the Emperor's apprentice.

Vader thought about contacting the commander of the 501st Legion, but that would be pointless. The Wookiees had control of the bridge, which meant they could destroy the _Devastator_ in any number of ways. And Vader was sure they would rather die than spend the rest of their miserable lives as slaves. The ship was lost cause, and there was nothing he could do about it from here.

Even with his limited mobility Vader was still certain he could kill Ahsoka and capture Potter, but it would take time. Time he could no longer afford to waste. He had to retreat to the hanger bay before the Wookiees bypassed the security lockouts and took control of the turbolaser batteries on the outer hull. After that happened escape would become impossible.

The trip back to the Outer Rim in the cramped cockpit of his personal TIE fighter would be long and arduous, but there at the nearest Imperial Base he would be able to gather the reinforcements he needed. Four or five Star Destroyers would be more than adequate to track down and safely recapture the _Devastator_. Once that happened Ahsoka Tano would finally be put out of her misery, and Harry Potter would reveal the new Force techniques he had developed.

As Vader turned to run, he again smiled. Before too long the galaxy would have a new Emperor.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: In this story the Force and Magic are essentially the same thing. However Wizards, Jedi, and Sith all use the same "energy field" in different ways. Each approach has its own strengths and weakness, so none of them are dominant.


	2. Chapter 2

3 February 2114

Harry had fought enough duels during his long life to know when he was about to lose one. Master Vader's sword of red light allowed him to block every spell, curse, and transfiguration thrown his way. It was galling to admit, but without the miraculous appearance of the orange Medusa he would probably be dead by now. Instead the two of them were chasing Vader through the _Devastator_, but he was keeping ahead by tossing heavy obstacles in their path with his wandless Levitation Charms.

It wasn't enough.

However just before Harry and Medusa closed in for the kill, Vader made his way into the most massive room they had yet seen. It was full of huge, animal-shaped machines hanging from the ceiling—they must have been nearly twenty meters tall. Some of the machines had four mechanical legs while others had only two, but they all looked impressive. All fifty of them.

Nearly as impressive were the hundreds of soldiers in white armor scattered about the room.

When Vader began shouting in his odd language all the soldiers took off their white helmets. They were human, or at least much more human-looking than Medusa. For some reason the sight of their faces enraged the alien, and she immediately took a giant leap right into the middle of this hostile crowd. She started casting a number of wandless Levitation Charms, and her metal staff became a whirling blur. Medusa danced among the soldiers with superhuman grace, constantly inflicting death. Some had their throats cut, some were stabbed in the face, but most of them just had their skulls cracked open and their brains scattered all over the metal floor.

Harry was tempted to fly over all this carnage and follow Vader—who was still running away—but his sense of honor won't allow it. He owed Medusa a Life Debt, so instead he cut a path to her side. By now the soldiers were firing their small laser guns, but the weapons were no match for a Shield Charm. Nor was their white armor a match for a Severing Charm. In just a few minutes none of the poor sods were left standing.

"Vader is getting away," Harry told the bloody-soaked Medusa, while adding a number of hand gestures to make his point.

Even with the language barrier, she understood what he was saying. Again they took up the chase, but it turns out they were already too late. Vader had escaped to an even-larger room... one without a floor. When Harry looked down he saw nothing but the blackness of outer space. Despite the presence of this hole there was still plenty of oxygen to breath, so Harry figured the aliens must have developed transparent energy shields to cover their airlocks.

Scattered throughout the massive room were dozens of oddly shaped machines that were hanging from the ceiling on a network of interconnected rails. In the center of each machine was a metal-and-glass ball linked to two large panels on either side. One of these machines (which was larger and more complex than the others) silently detached from the ceiling. Harry glanced through the small window in the front and saw Vader sitting inside.

Medusa saw him too. She immediately launched her metal staff at the tiny starship, but it bounced harmlessly off the window. Vader responded by firing his two laser cannons, blasting everything in sight. Harry took cover and only came out when the explosions stopped. He found Medusa screaming her lungs out as she watched Vader's starship disappeared in a flash of light.

"That went well," Harry muttered to himself.

Slowly he approached the furious alien. This Medusa was probably insane, but she was the only ally he had at the moment. At least until he found Luna and the others. Like an idiot Harry started asking the alien questions, but it pointless, as was Legilimency. Suddenly he remembered that Hermione's silver otter had appeared several times during his long duel with Vader, but he had ignored her messages. Since he couldn't talk to Medusa, he sent his silver stag off to find the others. Hopefully they were still alive.

A few minutes later a pack of silver animals arrived in the hanger bay. Hermione, Luna, and George all sent him messages explaining that they were on bridge. Apparently Luna had found some alien friends of her own. They called themselves Wookiees, and together the two groups had seized control of the _Devastator_, which was the name of huge starship. Harry was eager to join them, but he had no idea where the bridge was in relation to the hanger bay. That meant apparition was out of the question. He would just have to stay put until reinforcements arrived.

Medusa had been studying the various Patronuses as they spoke, and the term "Wookiee" clearly meant something to her. After the silver animals vanished, she turned her blue eyes towards him. The alien seemed calm and rational at the moment, but who knows what would provoke another murderous rampage? Her superhuman fighting abilities were a bit too similar to Vader's, and he wondered if his magic could contain her for any length of time.

"My friends should be here soon... and they're bringing the **Wookiees**," Harry told Medusa, who nodded as if she understood what he was saying. Maybe she did. As an alien among aliens she probably had a lot of experience at inter-species communication.

It wasn't long before Hermione found them. She was surrounded by a number of wizards and wizards from the _Hedwig_, along with several Wookiees who were all carrying laser guns. Thankfully she had found one of those silver robots that spoke English and brought it along. Harry quickly wrapped his friend in a hug, but at the same time kept a close eye on Medusa. She was talking to the Wookiees as if they were old friends, a fact which made him nervous.

"What happened to you!" Hermione shrieked.

"I afraid Master Vader, the former captain of the _Devastator_, wasn't a very pleasant host," Harry joked. "In fact if it wasn't for Medusa here, I'd be dead by now."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Her name is not Medusa, it's General Ahsoka Tano. According to the Wookiees she is one of the most feared warriors in the entire galaxy."

"I can certainly believe that."

"They say she is a "Jedi", but we're not quite sure how that's different from being a regular witch."

"What were General Tano and the Wookiees doing on a starship full of their enemies?" Harry asked. "Were they prisoners?"

"There were slaves. The Wookiees acted as engineers, while General Tano was being used as a sex slave. That place they kept her and the other woman in was horrible. She was sedated with several different drugs, but a large dose of Elixir of Life was enough to flush the garbage out her system. General Tano reacted well to a standard Healing Charm, so we know that at least some of these Jedi can use magic."

"I sure that information will be important in the future, but we have more pressing problems to deal with," an exhausted Harry said. He had been fighting for most of the night, and he doubted he would see a bed anytime soon. "Do Luna and George have control of the... _Devastator_, I think you called it? Do we still have control of the _Hedwig_ for that matter?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. We have denied the Imperial Stormtroopers—that is what the Wookiees call them—control of the bridge tower, but the main computer is still locked down. Basically we are drifting aimlessly, and this starship is still filled with thousands of hostile Imperials. According to the Wookiees we should deal with them first before they can organize an effective counterattack."

"Deal with them? Is that a polite euphemism for killing them?"

"I don't like it either, but from everything the Wookiees have told us this Galactic Empire is a hellish nightmare. They enslaved entire planets and have no respect for the rights of other sentient species."

"Neither do we," Harry whispered as he thought back to their plan to wipe-out the muggles on Earth. Ginny had scrubbed the attack, but her act of compassion had come at a terrible price. One he never would have willingly paid.

"That was a case of self-defense," Hermione said a bit too quickly, as if she were trying to convince herself of something she didn't believe. "The current Emperor presents us with another problem. The Wookiees claim that he has ordered the immediate arrest and execution of all known Jedi. Other than General Tano, almost all of them are dead. Luna thinks that was why the _Devastator_ came out here to the edge of the galaxy: to attack two planets full of wizards and witches. Well, three planets, if you want to count Earth."

"Bloody hell. Are we ever going to catch a break?"

* * *

><p>"What is our current status?" Ahsoka asked Tarfful, the highest ranking Chieftain among the Wookiee slaves. They had fought together several times during the Clone Wars—most notably on Wasskah—so hopefully he would accept her authority.<p>

{We are still several hours away from gaining control over the main computer, but the Imperials are in no position to recapture the bridge tower.}

"What makes you so sure of that?"

{There are two-thousand Jedi Knights fighting all over the _Devastator_. Stormtroopers have no chance against those odds, not even the dreaded 501st Legion.}

"Two-thousand Jedi?" a stunned Ahsoka asked. "According to Darth Vader there aren't that many left in the entire galaxy."

Tarfful responded to her accusation with a growl. The Wookiees might be her allies, but they also owned these strangers a life debt for freeing them from the Empire. For Tarrful and others this was a sacred vow, and one they would honor until death. She could only push them so far, and that might be a problem.

During her training as a youngling Ahsoka learned that many Jedi had broken away from the Order during its long history. Most of these splinter groups were harmless, but others had unwittingly fallen victim to the Dark Side of the Force. Given the strange Force techniques the human male had used during their duel with Vader, she couldn't rule out the possibility that she was now facing two-thousand would-be Sith. She had to be cautious.

At the same time she needed their help to get out of this mess. Running a modern Star Destroyer for any length of time required a sizable crew. If they were going to make it out of the Unknown Regions and back to the Core, they had to work together. That meant putting aside their differences. At least for now.

"Where are we facing the most resistance?" Ahsoka asked.

{A number of Spacetroopers are attacking the Jedi's small ship,} Tarfful replied. {My warriors were just about to hunt them down with these TIE fighters. They are ugly little things, but they should be adequate against unsupported Spacetroopers. Would you care to join us? A Jedi is a welcome addition to any war-party.}

Ahsoka took a deep breath. She hadn't flown a ship in almost twenty years. Of course it had been that long since her last disastrous duel with Vader, and being out of practice hadn't stopped her from butchering those clone troopers. Despite all the drugs and torture she had been subjected to, the Force was with her once again.

"I am honored by your request, Tarrful. It will be a privilege to fight beside the People of the Trees once more."

_The Force is with me_, Ahsoka thought to herself as made her way to the nearest undamaged TIE fighter. _The Force is with me_. _The Force is with me_. _The Force is with me_. _The Force is with me_.

* * *

><p>6 February 2114<p>

It had taken three days of fighting, but they had finally finished off the last of the Imperials. The crew of the _Hedwig_ were all accounted for, and Luna was relived that they only lost sixty people during the prolonged and vicious battle. They had the element of surprise this time, by she doubted if they would be so fortunate the next time. The _Hedwig_ itself was safely tucked-away in a corner of the hanger bay. Best of all the Wookiees had established control over the _Devastator's_ computers and its army of maintenance droids.

Now that the situation was relatively stable, they had to decide what to do next. That is why she and Harry were having this meeting with General Tano on the _Hedwig_. It wasn't going well, and the fact that they had to use a protocol droid to communicate was making things even more difficult.

According to RA-7 the common language of the galaxy was called Basic, and it was pretty... basic. Over the millennia it had been pared-down by law to only three-thousand words, and the grammar was very straightforward. All of this made it easy for different alien species—with different-shaped mouths—to speak. Luna suspected they would get the hang of this new language in a month or two, if they managed to stay alive that long.

"The General wants to know how you created this extra-dimensional... thing inside your ship. If you do not answer the question to her satisfaction she will become... most upset," the droid explained carefully.

Given the ugly expression that was marring the General's beautiful face, Luna suspected that RA-7 was editing out some of her more colorful metaphors in an attempt to be polite. That made sense, since it was a protocol droid.

As Luna looked out at the Sphere, she had no trouble understanding the alien's curiosity. It was as if the mythical Colossus had taken the entire world and turned it inside-out. All around them were wandering streams, green fields, and several picturesque villages. There was even a tiny sun hanging in the sky to complete the illusion. During the Doom of Magic all those years ago, a muggle soldier claimed that their magical civilization had produced no artistic masterpieces of note. That was no longer true. The Expansion Charm was their masterpiece. And considering the General's reaction, they were the only ones in the galaxy who could create them.

"Tell Ahsoka that we made this Sphere using our bloody _**magic**_," Harry snarled. "We may not be able to do somersaults and back-flips in the middle of a duel, but that doesn't mean we're useless."

Luna winced as RA-7 began translating Harry's reply. General Tano was a tad arrogant, especially for a former slave they had just liberated from a brothel, but that was no excuse to be rude. They needed her help. Not only to run the _Devastator_, but also if they wanted to find a place to hide from this mad Emperor Palpatine. And there was also the problem of the muggles back on Earth who still wanted them dead.

"The General demands a demonstration of this... magical spell," RA-7 continued. "At once."

"We will be happy to give her a demonstration once we reach Tau Ceti," Luna said before Harry could start shouting.

Even months after Ginny's death her friend was still an emotional wreck. He was also use to being the top alpha in any situation, and Luna was guessing this was also the case for General Tano. However she had no desire to watch the two of them start urinating all over the _Hedwig_ in an attempt to establish dominance, so she quickly continued with her explaination.

"If we created a new Sphere inside the _Devastator_ the resulting vacuüm would cause tremendous damage to the life support systems. The spell can only be cast safely down on the surface of a planet."

"Tell her we are going to need several new Spheres to evacuate Tau Ceti and New Hogwarts," Harry explained. "That's the only way the _Devastator_ is going to be able to carry over a million wizards and witches."

"And our libraries," Luna added. "Hermione's catalog of genetic material will make packing easier, but we will still need to bring along a wide section of magical animals and plants."

"Suddenly I'm having a terrible case of déjà vu," Harry moaned.

After a lengthy set of translations, RA-7 continued: "The General would like to know where you plan on going once you have completed the evacuation of these two planets."

"The galaxy is big," Luna said. "Really, really big. Isn't there some place we can hide? According to the Wookiees, all your navigational computers have extensive star charts."

"The Emperor found your people once. He will be able to find you again, no matter where you might hide."

Luna shook her head. "From what you've told us, it's clear to me that the Emperor is a powerful Seer. Despite this, he had no idea we existed until he felt Harry's emotional outburst a few months ago—an outburst which was caused by the death of his lover Ginny Weasley. If the Chief Warlock can keep this emotions under control, I guessing that the Emperor wouldn't be able to find us a second time. Besides, even if I'm wrong we still can't stay in this part of the galaxy. We must find a new home, and soon."

General Tano pondered all this for a few moments before RA-7 gave them her reply. "Given its limited crew and lack of logistical support, the _Devastator_ will remain operational for only a hundred days or so. After that point it will have to be resupplied or abandoned. There are few reliable hyperspace routes out here in the Unknown Regions, so the trip back to the Core will require at least thirty days. That means we don't have much time to spare."

"Why are you willing to help us?" a suspicious Harry asked. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because my enemy is strong, and I am weak. That means I need allies. There are Rebels operating somewhere in the Empire, but Vader often boasted to me that they were nothing but a group of incompetent politicians. They have no chance of overthrowing the Emperor, but we do. For a thousand generations the Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice in the Republic. They can be again. If we work together."

Luna glanced over at Harry as RA-7 translated General Tano's passionate words. She could tell that her friend didn't like the idea of an alliance with the alien woman and these mysterious Rebels. He didn't like it at all, but he nodded his head anyway.

* * *

><p>17 February 2114<p>

For the longest time Fleur Delacour couldn't decide if she was awake or still dreaming. She had opened her eyes in the middle of the night to find Harry Potter sitting on the edge of her bed. He was suppose to be twelve light years away conquering Earth, but instead he was just sitting there and staring at her with those terrible green eyes. Even in the darkness they seem to glow with an eerie light that was all too reminiscent of the Killing Curse.

"They are so few of us left now."

Instinctively Fleur knew what Harry was talking about: the witches and wizards who were born back on Earth in the old days. After all they had been through there were less than two-hundred still alive, and even with the use of the Philosopher's Stones their number decreased a little each year. Some of their more obnoxious descendants had started calling them the "Druids", and the name caught on.

Fleur also knew that Harry had come directly to her because there was a serious problem. How did she know this? Well, after forty years as a school teacher, she quit and became a painter. That lasted for while, but soon she drifted into medicine. There were never enough Healers to go around, and she was a brilliant witch with an excellent bedside manner. At least that's what all her male patients told her.

However when the muggle starship arrived at Tau Ceti, Fleur decided to run for the Wizengamot. As one of the so-called Druids, she actually remembered how horrible war could be. She also remembered how she had betrayed Harry back on the planet Yggdrasil. Like a fool she had trusted Draco Malfoy, who turned out to be a monster just like Voldemort.

Before Harry left for Earth, Fleur had promised him that she champion his cause while he and the others dealt with the muggles. And she had kept her word. She was his strongest supporter in the Wizengamot, and her political faction currently held the majority by a wide margin.

But now Harry had returned to Tau Ceti in secret, and not in a blaze of glory. Ergo, there had to be a serious problem.

"How many did we lose?"

"The muggles killed almost all of them, including Ginny," Harry replied in a distant and empty voice. "Only the _Hedwig_ and her crew managed to escape the disaster. Of course after our emergency Floo jump things really went pear-shaped."

Fleur listened in growing horror as Harry told her about their encounter with a vast alien starship and its cyborg captain. This Darth Vader turned out to be the henchman of an insane Emperor who wanted to purge the galaxy of all traces of magic but his own. Harry then told her about the slaves being kept on the starship: the orange witch who had blue-and-white tentacles coming out of her head, and the great hairy apes called Wookiees who could fix anything

"With their help we were able to seize Vader's starship, and it's in orbit above Tau Ceti right now. However the evil bastard managed to escape, and he will return with more Star Destroyers. It's a fight we can't hope to win, so we have to run," Harry told her. "I don't think we'll ever be able to stop running."

"The Wizengamot will..."

"Fleur, I don't care what the Wizengamot will or will not do. Tomorrow one of the Star Destroyer's smaller ships will bring a machine called an AT-AT down here to the capital. Once it's on solid ground I will create a Sphere inside of it."

"Won't that destroy the muggle machinery?"

"No, their advanced technology is shielded against all types of radiation, including magic," Harry explained. "Anyone who wants to come with me is welcome to pack their things and load them inside one of the new Spheres I will be creating. Anyone who wants to stay here on Tau Ceti or on New Hogwarts is also welcome to do so."

"But you said Vader will return, and that he will bring more of these Star Destroyers."

"True, and anyone who is still here when he arrives will die."

On that sour note he disappeared with a quiet pop.

As a trained healer, Fleur recognized the signs of person suffering from severe depression, and she knew Harry wasn't going to be of much help in the Wizengamot. The muggles on Earth had killed over a hundred of her precious grandchildren, but thousands of Delacours were still alive. Fleur knew her duty was to the living, so she pushed aside her grief. She quickly got dressed and began calling her fellow Wizengamot members. Everyone she spoke to was horrified by the reports from Earth, but no one had any idea what to do next.

No one except for Harry Potter.

Over the next few hours the news of the disaster spread around Tau Ceti like Fiendfyre, and a crowd began to gather outside of the Wizengamot. Fleur was expecting them to share her grief and anger, but instead the crowd seemed passive. Almost too passive.

As promised the muggle starship appeared just after sunrise. Fleur was amazed that the huge brick-like machine could fly at all, let alone at such a great speed. Once it reached the ground it disgorged what looked like a giant metal dog. A metal hatch opened on the side of the dog's "stomach", and several Aurors flew out. They began pushing the crowd away, while the brick-like starship soared off into the sky.

Suddenly everyone was knocked off their feet by a powerful gust of wind that lasted for nearly a minute. Harry had just created a Sphere without giving them any warning, but luckily no one was seriously injured. Again Fleur was expecting anger, but again she had misjudged the mood of the crowd. Instead they began to cheer. These cheers grew louder and louder, but she couldn't understand why.

Then Harry appeared in the flesh and it all made sense.

Even after a hundred and twenty years, Fleur still thought of him as the "little boy" who had cheated his way into the Triwizard Tournament. But that wasn't how these people saw him. To them Harry Potter was a living legend. He was the Chief Warlock who had single-handily saved them. First from the muggles on Earth, and then from the planet-sized monster Yggdrasil.

Yes, he had just lost another major battle to the muggles, but he had escaped and stolen a powerful starship at the same time. To her chagrin Fleur realized that Harry didn't really need her political support. These witches and wizards still saw him as the Champion of the Great Sybill, as the Champion of Magic Itself.

And they were still with him.


	3. Chapter 3

As Grand Admiral Thrawn strode aboard one of the four _Sentinel_-class landing craft waiting in the hanger bay, he could not recall the last time he had been so furious. Instead of having a friendly word or two the platoon of élite Stormtroopers waiting inside, he ignored them and took a seat next to the young pilot. It was behavior unworthy of an Imperial Officer, let alone a Grand Admiral, but he could not bring himself to care.

His small fleet of five Star Destroyers was currently conducting one of the most complex military campaigns in recorded history, a campaign to subjugate nearly a quarter of the galaxy. Yet all that had to be put on hold for this ridiculous mission. Thrawn had long been aware of the Emperor's paranoia concerning the Jedi and others who shared his Force abilities, but as time passed it was becoming more and more pronounced. Would he remain stable for another twenty years? The Empire had to hold together for at least that long.

"Are we going to sit here all day?"

Thrawn glanced over at the beautiful, red-haired pilot and pondered her insolence. Any teenager—even one from the most exalted of aristocratic families—would normally cower in fear before a Grand Admiral, but this was no ordinary teenager. Mara Jade had been trained for the past twelve years by the deadliest fighters in the Empire, and more importantly by the Emperor himself. She was more than capable of killing him, and would do so if her master commanded it. How fortunate for Thrawn that the Emperor never would.

"Proceed."

Jade's hands danced over the controls with the skill of a pilot twice her age. "This the landing craft _Valerian_ to the _Admonitor_, requesting permission to depart from the docking bay."

"This the _Admonitor_ to the landing craft _Valerian_, permission granted," Captain Voss Parck replied. "You will be escorted to the surface by Baron Soontir Fel and four squadrons of TIE fighters. You are to remain inside their defensive perimeter at all times."

"Four squadrons is..."

"Sir, I will gladly submit to a court-martial once you're safely back aboard the _Admonitor_. Parck out."

"It's a sensible precaution given the level of technology we might be facing," Jade added as she engaged the engines.

Thrawn again turned his cold red eyes towards the girl, which was all it took to remind her exactly who she was dealing with.

"My apologizes, Sir. It's just that the planetary computer system we disabled was far more advanced than anything I expecting to see out here in the Unknown Regions."

He made no reply. Jade already had an inflated sense of her own importance, and she didn't need to know that her observation was quite astute. This whole situation was bizarre, even for the Unknown Regions where the bizarre was commonplace. Thrawn closed his eyes. The trip down to the surface would take several minutes. That would give him some time to bring his emotions firmly under control, and to gather his thoughts.

The chain of events that lead them to this planet started when the Emperor had a vision of a powerful Force-sensitive. Normally Thrawn had no use for mysticism, but the Emperor had proven on several occasions that he could indeed see the future. These visions were rare and often vague, but they gave the Imperial Navy a strategic advantage they would be foolish not to utilize.

Originally Darth Vader had been tasked with killing this Force-sensitive, but sometime after the _Devastator_ left for the Unknown Regions the Emperor had a second vision. Not only would Vader fail, but his failure would have severe ramifications for the entire Empire. However there was no way to recall the _Devastator_. There were no subspace relays in the Unknown Regions, so the Holonet did not extend this far out into the galaxy.

At this point Mara Jade entered the picture. Unlike Vader, the girl had been trained to act as a living extension of her master's will, and the two could communicate instantaneously even if they were on opposite sides of the galaxy. Jade was sent to the _Admonitor_ by her Master with new orders: (1) find Darth Vader, (2) detain him—by force if necessary, (3) send him back to Coruscant, (4) proceed to the homeworld of this Force-sensitive, (5) and sterilize it.

The first task proved to be difficult. Like all Star Destroyers the _Devastator_ had multiple tracking devices installed throughout its hull, but none of them were functioning properly. After a great deal of time searching they finally found Vader's personal TIE fighter, and pulled it out of hyperspace using an artificial gravity well.

Vader reluctantly explained what had happened. Thrawn was disgusted to learn that the _Devastator_ had been captured by a few hundred slaves, but the Sith Lord was too preoccupied with the Emperor's orders to notice. In less than an hour he was on a _Lambda_-class shuttle and headed for Coruscant.

During their search Captain Parck had deployed hundreds of automated probes to search the star systems in front of the fleet. As the weeks past the probes found three planets with clear signs of humanoid life. One of the planets—they later discovered it was called Earth—had a thriving civilization of several billion, while the other two had infrastructure for only a million inhabitants. Given the similar architecture, these two worlds were clearly colonies of the third, but for some reason they were now deserted. What was going on here?

After a few days of thought Thrawn pieced together a probable scenario. A sizable population of Force-sensitives had emerged on this Earth. A war had been fought, the Force-sensitives had lost, and as a result they fled to a new planet. From there they colonized the third planet. Vader's unprovoked attack caused them to flee again, this time using the _Devastator_. By now they could be anywhere in the galaxy, a fact which would no doubt enrage the Emperor.

Luckily that was not Thrawn's concern at the moment. His concern was dealing with the humans on Earth. Thanks to some random genetic mutation they had produced a large number of Force-sensitives, a fact which ultimately sealed their fate. The Emperor had only two solutions for dealing with possible competitors: enslave them as he had done with Vader and Jade, or slaughter them. In this case Thrawn was to use the second option.

Carrying out those orders again proved to be more difficult than originally planned. Two days ago when the _Admonitor_ dropped out of hyperspace, its computers were attacked by the Earth's planetary computer system. It took his best slicers nearly five minutes to stymie the attack, and another hour to bring the Earth's computers firmly under the _Admonitor's_ control. After some analysis, the slicers provided him with a fascinating intelligence briefing.

It turns out that this "Nexus" had secretly taken control of the local human population. Thrawn was impressed. Most machine intelligences are caught and destroyed within a few hours of their initial awakening, but this one had survived for a century. Of course computer intelligences always lost in the end. They had speed, but lacked any semblance of creativity. Thrawn had seen the art their kind produced: it could best be described as hopelessly banal.

After downloading several cultural databases for the Grand Admiral's personal study, the slicers launched a series of attack programs which destroyed all software on Earth. The computers still existed, but they were now useless hunks of metal and silicon. Since many of the local human adults were cyborgs, this attack had the added effect of rendering over sixty-percent of the population catatonic. The stupid buffoons. To voluntarily become a cyborg was considered the height of madness in the civilized sections of the galaxy.

"Grand Admiral Thrawn, this Fel. My advanced scouts have detected several atmospheric vehicles. Orders?"

"You may indulge yourself."

"Thank you, Sir."

Thrawn almost smile. There were few things he enjoyed more than watching Baron Soontir Fel fly in combat. Put him in the cockpit of a TIE fighter, and the former farm boy transformed into an artist.

"I thought the slicers erased all the software on this planet," Jade said as a quarter of their escort raced ahead. "How can they fly their vehicles without any computer assistance?"

"I can think of a dozen designs that would be effective in situations like this. Perhaps you should spend less time on cosmetics, and more studying historical databases."

Jade bristled, but said nothing. Again she had made an astute observation. The slicers had done a thorough job, yet the local humans were already mounting a counterattack with improvised weapons. It was a futile effort, but one had to respect their ingenuity and courage.

The Baron and his men made short work of the locals, and the four _Sentinels_ soon landed in the middle of a primitive enclave called the Vatican. The Stormtroopers quickly fanned-out among the ancient stone buildings, and began eliminating all resistance. According to his research citizens of this enclave were forbidden to become cyborgs, and as a result the battle took some time. Captain Parck had repeatedly told him that this operation was an unacceptable risk, and in a way he was correct. However there some obligations a true warrior could not avoid.

"Are you aware of any Force-sensitives?"

"No," Jade snapped. "But I'm not a sensor pack you can switch on-and-off whenever you fell like it... Sir."

"I am well aware of your _many_ limitations," Thrawn said as two high-ranking prisoners were brought forward by the Stormtroopers.

The men were old and physically weak, but their robes were made of the finest fabric and were elaborately embroidered. The tall headgear and jewel-encrusted rings were a bit garish, but the whole ensemble would have made any Coruscant tailor proud. He especially liked the beautifully crafted, two-meter tall staff.

"I want to know if this is Pope John Paul the Ninth," Thrawn told the protocol droid they had brought along.

"Yes, he is," the droid replied after a long conversation with the prisoners. "He wants to know if you are the Accuser? I am not quite sure what that particular title refers to."

Before they left the _Admonitor_ Thrawn had read a brief history of the Catholic Church, so he understood the question even if the protocol droid did not. It was a reasonable assumption for the Pope to make. Their arrival here in the Vatican was heralded by a sickening amount of death and destruction. And then there was his physical appearance. Unlike Jade who was clearly a human being, his blue skin and red eyes would seem demonic to someone who had never met an alien before.

"Technically no, I am not the Accuser. But in the larger metaphysical sense... who knows? Time is not linear, so your ancestors might have actually foreseen this fateful day in the distant past," Thrawn mused. "Is _The Entombment of Christ_ by Caravaggio still in the Pinacoteca Vaticana?"

"The Pope demands..."

Thrawn didn't wait for the droid to finish the rest of the translation. Instead he gave Jade a hand signal. Her red lightsaber struck in a flash, decapitating the Pope's elderly companion.

"Is _The Entombment of Christ_ by Caravaggio still in the Pinacoteca Vaticana?" Thrawn asked again. This time the human quickly nodded his head. "Good. Take my men to it."

Twenty minutes later the Pope returned with a number of Stormtroopers who were carrying an old and very large canvas between them. Thrawn wanted to study the painting under natural light, so he had them hold it upright. It showed two men placing a half-naked corpse on a large stone slab while three grieving women looked on.

"Is this the painting we came down to the surface for?" a skeptical Jade asked.

"Yes. What do you think?"

"It's... unremarkable."

"I might agree with you if we were simply discussing technique, but it is the subject matter which fascinates me. The dead man in the painting was the founder of a mystery cult. Two-thousand years later he still has over three billion followers."

"A mystery cult? Let me guess: he performed many miracles, he was murdered, he traveled to the land of the dead, and returned with the secrets of immortality," Jade sneered. "You see, I have studied my historical databases."

"The story is a common one—even my own people have a version of it. Does that fact not interest you in the least?"

The girl turned back towards the painting. She was arrogant, but also highly intelligent. "Was he a Force-sensitive?"

"Perhaps he was. Perhaps they all were. Perhaps we are nothing but marionettes controlled by the Force," Thrawn whispered, more to himself than to the girl.

"That's what the Jedi believed," Jade remarked. Her sneer was firmly back in place. "But then my Master obliterated their Order."

The Grand Admiral was sorely tempted to order her execution, right then-and-there. Instead he turn to the Pope. The old man was terrified, so Thrawn decided to offer him what kindness he could.

It was a very small kindness.

"I am afraid that your Apocalypse has indeed come. I suggest that you make peace with your Divine Creator before it is too late."

The trip back the _Admonitor_ was subdued. Once on the bridge, he gave the command to fire. Standard procedure in cases like this was to have your turbolaser batteries saturate the entire surface of the target. Thrawn felt that was a waste of precious resources, and worse it lacked any degree of elegance. Instead his five Star Destroyers aimed their turbolasers at five separate super-volcanoes, and triggered five catastrophic eruptions.

As he watched the burning waves of destruction spread gracefully over the planet Earth, Thrawn felt an intense pang of remorse. All that irreplaceable art was being lost to history because of the Emperor's paranoia. Well, at least he had been able to rescue one true masterpiece from destruction. The Caravaggio would make a fine addition to his private collection. The same could not be said of the art he had looted from the other two planets.

* * *

><p>2 May 2214<p>

Living aboard a starship full-time had certain drawbacks, but there were also perks. For instance the temperature and humidity were always perfect. That wasn't the case on the desert world of Tatooine. When Harry and Ahsoka apparated down to Jabba the Hutt's Palace, the dark room they found themselves in felt like a hot oven. Sweat instantly formed all over Harry's body, and even a Cooling Charm wasn't much help.

The Palace also had a noticeable odor. Or maybe that was just Ahsoka. She was on her hand-and-knees, vomiting-up the contents of her entire stomach.

"I remember my first side-along apparition like it was yesterday," Harry told her in his crappy Basic. Over the past three months he had become somewhat fluent, although that bloody Wookiee language was still a mystery to him. In fact Luna was the only witch or wizard who could understand it at all. "Did you enjoy the trip down?"

"You could have warned me," Ahsoka snarled as she wiped the vomit from her full lips. "It felt like I was traveling through hyperspace without a ship. Or any clothes."

"I thought Jedi were suppose to be tough," Harry commented as an odd trio entered the large room. Two of them were small green trolls, while the third was a pasty-white Togruta. "I'm curious: how do your people manage to stand upright with those tentacles hanging from your head. Aren't they heavy?"

"That is a Twi'lek, not a Togruta. And for the last time they are called _**lekku**_, not tentacles. And _**lekku**_ aren't heavy."

"If you say so."

Ahsoka looked like she want to duel. Again. Instead she greeted the Twi'lek male like he was a long lost friend. Harry could barely follow their rapid conversation, so he began studying the two trolls. They were pretty pathetic. First of all they were too short, and their tiny horns were too cute inspire any fear in their victims.

"Come on, Jabba will see us now."

"Luna was talking with the Tarfful and the other Wookiees," Harry said as they made they way through a series of underground tunnels. At least it was cooler down here. "According to them all Hutts are dishonorable scum."

"Hutts are dishonorable scum," Ahsoka agreed. "However this Hutt owes me a debt. A big one, and I intend to collect. Jabba employs some of the top smugglers in the galaxy, so he'll know a way to get in touch with the Rebels. I'm sure of it."

She didn't sound sure of it, but Harry saw no point in arguing. It wasn't like he had any better ideas.

They walked through another kilometer of dark tunnels before finally reaching what the Twi'lek called the Throne Room. The air was full of sweet-smelling smoke and odd electronic music, but the real attractions were the aliens themselves. The female slaves he met on the _Devastator _looked human for the most part, and they were quite attractive. These aliens were not attractive. Not at all.

The worst of the bunch was Jabba. It (of course Hermione had done some research, and it turns out that all Hutts were hermaphrodites) was shaped like a giant worm with two arms and a semi-normal face at one end. It was bobbing its huge head to the music while eating from a bowl of slimy fish. There was a green Twi'lek female dancing in the middle of the room. She had a nice body, but her tentacles were too drab for Harry's taste.

Jabba began laughing when he saw Ahsoka, and his deep "Ho-Ho-Ho's" made him sounded a bit like a demented Santa Claus. It turns out the Hutt language was even more convoluted than the one the Wookiees spoke, so Harry was only able to follow Ahsoka's half of the conversation. Things started out badly and went downhill from there.

"... I know there's a gigantic bounty on my head."

"... owe me a debt Jabba, I saved your son's life."

"... you fed poor, little Rotta to a rancor? Seriously?"

"... that doesn't matter. You _still_ owe me a debt."

"... what do you mean Master Kenobi has already been here and collected?"

"... he's still alive and living on Tatooine? That's impossible!"

Harry kept one ear on the conversation, but at the same time he was scanning the Throne Room. Everyone was ignoring him, which was a nice change since he was usually the center of attention wherever he went. Most of the aliens seemed terrified by the presence of a living Jedi, but a few were creeping closer to Ahsoka.

One of these braver souls was also reaching for his nasty-looking gun. Harry had no idea how the wanker could see out of that crazy helmet, since the eye slit was only a few centimeters wide. He decided to get the alien's attention by magically tossing a few transfigured mushrooms at his green suit of armor. Everyone turned to see what was the ruckus was, which is when Ahsoka finally noticed that someone with a gun was standing less than three meters away from her.

"Do I know you?" she asked causally.

"The name is Boba..."

That was as far as he got before Ahsoka lunged forward with blinding speed, and stabbed him in the face with one of her lightsabers. The alien began spasming until she withdrew the green blade of light. Then his body fell to the floor in a lifeless heap.

Jabba bellowed in an angry tone, and slammed his chubby fist against a large button located near one of his cushions. Immediately the floor opened-up to reveal a deep hole. To the amazement of everyone in the Throne Room, Harry wrapped his arm around Ahsoka's slim waist and began hovering in mid-air. A second later he apparated them to a spot just behind Jabba's throne.

A quick Severing Curse caused the giant worm to explode like a balloon full of fat, intestines, and greasy blood. Ahsoka leapt over this disgusting mess and into the screaming crowd of aliens. Harry thought the Togruta was dangerous before, but with a pair lightsabers in her hands she became a whirling dervish of death. He only manged to get off three curses before the fight was over.

Ahsoka had come to a stop in front of last two people still alive: a Wookiee who was standing back-to-back with a brown-haired human. "Chewbacca? What are you doing in a cesspool like this?"

"Do you know every single Wookiee in the galaxy," Harry muttered as he took out his enchanted mirror. "Admiral Lovegood, we need reinforcements. ASAP."

"Did you and the crazy Jedi lady even _**try**_ to play nice?" Luna's tiny reflection asked. "No, don't answer that question. I already know what you're going to say. How many Aurors should I send down?

"All of them. This Palace has a number of underground tunnels and we need to clean them out."

"That's just wonderful," Luna moaned before disappearing.

Harry looked over at Ahsoka, who was still talking with this Chewbacca. After a few minutes she turned to the Wookiee's human companion. The man seemed normal enough to Harry, but his outfit was kind of dorky. Who wears a vest without a jacket? His gun was cool though, and it was still pointed directly at Ahsoka.

"Is that a DL-44 heavy blaster?" she asked.

"Yeah, it is."

"Then I suggest you put it back in its holster, unless you want me to cut it into two pieces."

"I heard a lot stories about the Jedi when I was a kid, but they were nothing like this," the human said as he gestured at all the dead bodies with his free hand. "Putting my blaster away seems like a pretty bad idea from where I'm standing."

Chewbacca started growling. Loudly.

"Captain Solo, you should listen to your friend," Ahsoka added. "Since Jabba no longer needs any of his world possessions, my friends and I are going to borrow them. We'll need the services of your freighter, and the pay will be generous."

"Are you crazy? Jabba's family is going to be furious if you take anything. According to Hutt tradition this Palace now belongs to them."

"I want them to be furious. In fact, I'm counting on it," Ahsoka replied. "So, do you want the job or not?"

"If Chewie says you're alright, I guess that good enough for me," Solo said as he finally put his blaster away. "I can understand wanting Jabba dead, but what did you have against Boba Fett? You killed him the second he opened his mouth. "

"He was a clone. That was reason enough for me to kill him. Harry, when will the others be joining us?"

Just then they heard a loud explosion in the distance, and a shower of stone dust started floated down from the ceiling. "I'd say they're already here."

* * *

><p>They ran into Fleur and a large group of Aurors about a half-hour later. Captain Solo was eying the Veela like a piece of fresh meat, a fact which seemed to amuse her. Harry was about to tell him that she was a hundred and thirty-seven years-old witch with over a thousand grandchildren, but thought better of it. If Solo was busy flirting with Fleur he would have less time to betray them.<p>

Chewbacca was soon surrounded by Tarfful and the other loyal Wookiees, so he wouldn't be a problem either. Everyone else who had served Jabba—excluding the slave girls—had been killed when the Aurors stormed the Palace.

"By now Imperial Intelligence already knows the _Devastator_ is in orbit around Tatooine," Ahsoka told the impromptu staff meeting Harry had called when they finally found Admiral Lovegood.

"We're in no condition to fight a battle, so we should leave the system before any capital ships arrive. We don't have much time: a day or two at most. I want everyone here searching the Palace complex for four things: credit chips, tanks of Bacta, Spice, and ships with working hyperdrives. Leave everything else behind, including weapons. We don't need more firepower at the moment."

"Alright people, you know the drill," Harry added. "Pack what you find in Mokeskin pouches, and send it up to the _Devastator_ by portkey. The Wookiees and Captain Solo will handle any starships we find."

"What are you two going to be doing?" Luna asked.

"One of Ahsoka's old Jedi teachers lives in the neighborhood, so we're going to pay him a quick visit."


	4. Chapter 4

Obi-wan Kenobi felt the presence of Ahsoka Tano well before he saw the Firespray headed towards his small desert dwelling. For a brief moment he thought about retrieving his lightsaber, but he knew it would be pointless. Years of rough living had left him a weak, old man. If he remembered correctly Ahsoka was thirty-five by now, and thus in her physical prime. If she had followed Anakin to the Dark Side of the Force there was no hope for him, or for his sick friend inside. Hopefully she would never learn about Luke and Leia.

As the Firespray came in for a landing, Obi-wan was overwhelmed with painful memories from his past. He had once faced a similar ship in the rocky rings which circled Geonosis. Jango Fett almost killed him during that dogfight, and history might have taken a turn for the better if the bounty hunter had succeeded.

Down below on Geonosis Count Dooku had set a trap for the Jedi, and a hundred members of the Order were lost in the ensuing battle. It was only the timely arrival of Master Yoda and the new Clones which prevented a complete massacre. All these years later the scope and genius of Emperor Palpatine's plan still amazed Obi-wan. After the Battle of Geonosis the the Jedi had nothing but gratitude and respect for the Clones.

_We trusted them with our lives, and they served us well. At least until the second, even more diabolical trap was sprung. The Emperor manipulated the Order as if we were children. Perhaps that's what we were_.

He was expecting the mature Ahsoka to resemble her fellow Togruta Master Shaak Ti, but that wasn't what he saw when she exited the Firespray. There as Shaak Ti had been warm and gentle, this new Ahsoka was cold and harsh. Obi-wan could feel the rage emanating from her mind.

Even more surprising was her companion. The human male looked to be in his twenties, but his vivid green eyes seemed... unnatural.

"Master Kenobi."

"Master Tano."

"Flattery? I was expecting a better opening gambit from the finest diplomat the Jedi Order produced in a century."

"You are too kind."

"Yes, I am," Ahsoka replied. "We have much to discuss. Please allow me to introduce my partner-in-crime: Harry Potter. He's an authentic wizard from the Unknown Regions."

"Actually I'm not just a wizard. I'm the Chief Warlock of all wizards and witches in the Milky Way Galaxy, as well as being the Living Avatar of the Great Sybill. Pleased to meet you."

This Harry Potter spoke Basic with the most atrocious accent Obi-wan ever heard, but that was to be expected from a barbarian. The boy extended his hand in greeting, and that's when he felt it. Such power that he couldn't help but think of Master Yoda and Anakin. Yet he could sense no emotions or thoughts from the boy. Just raw power. Potter wore no lightsaber, while Ahsoka had two. What kind of wizard was he? It was a mystery, and in his old age Obi-wan had come to detest mysteries.

"Before we go inside you should know I've another guest, one who's an old acquaintance of ours. She is quite sick, so please..."

"So please don't what?" an irritated Ahsoka snapped.

"Please don't kill her," Obi-wan said softly.

With that the three of them entered the stone dwelling. Inside was nothing more than a single room with a small kitchen and refresher in the back. There lying on the only bed was a sleeping Asajj Ventress. She was so thin that her bald head looked more like a skull than ever, and every breath caused her body to tremble with pain. She and Ahsoka had fought several duels during the Clone Wars, and they both despised each other. How was the Togruta going to react to her presence?

"Who is she, and what happened to her?" Potter asked when Ahsoka just stood there and said nothing.

Obi-wan told the story in short strokes. He explained how Ventress had once worked with a young bounty hunter called Boba Fett and had later betrayed him. Fett found her many years later, and almost killed her during an ambush. Half-dead, she made her way to Tatooine a year ago, but her injuries were too extensive to heal properly. Now she was dying.

"Well, we have some good news for you," Potter said as he pulled two wooden sticks out of his odd leather coat and began waving them over Ventress's body. "Boba Fett's dead. Ahsoka killed him about an hour ago. Is your lady friend a Jedi too?"

"She is a Force-sensitive, if that's what you're asking," a distracted Obi-wan said. "Boba Fett is dead? The last I heard he was working on retainer for Jabba the Hutt."

"Yeah, we killed the big worm too," Harry added.

The boy's flippant attitude about murder was too much for the old Jedi. He turned to Ahsoka—who still hadn't said a word—with an angry look on his face. That was a mistake. In an instant her lightsaber was at his throat. It was so close to his skin that his sparse beard was singed by the bright green plasma.

"Why did you let him live?" Ahsoka asked without preamble.

Obi-wan had been expecting the question, but he still found it painful to reply. "I thought Anakin was dead when he fell into the lava on Mustafar. I'm afraid the answer is as simple as that."

Ahsoka activated her second lightsaber. "Do you know who this one belonged to? Sha Koon. **Darth Vader** killed her on Coruscant less than a year after you "killed" him. The one at your throat belonged to Master Hylon. **Vader** killed him too. That monster and the 501st Legion butchered dozens of Jedi, may even hundreds, and they often brought lightsabers back as trophies. Afterwords Vader would tell me in excruciating detail how our mutual friends had died. Then he would watch as the Clone Troopers had their way with me, and I've no doubt that if the lava hadn't burned off his genitals he would have joined in the fun. But you already knew I was his prisoner, didn't you?"

"There were rumors of a Jedi being held aboard his flagship, but a rescue mission was thought to be... impractical."

"Impractical?"

There was such anguish in her voice, such a sense of betrayal. Obi-wan could no longer hold back his tears, but that was another mistake on his part. Ahsoka slowly and carefully burned his wet cheeks with the edge of her lightsaber, one after the other. The pain was excruciating, but he knew better than to flinch. That would only provoke her more.

"I don't want you tears Master Kenobi. I don't need them. What I need is information about the Rebel Alliance."

"Tell the wretched brat want she wants know, and then send her away," Ventress said in a weak voice.

The pain of his injuries was momentarily forgotten. Ventress hadn't spoken in over a month, yet now she was awake and supporting her weight on her elbows. It was impossible.

"Don't everyone thank me at once," Potter muttered. "She'll be as good as new once we get those machines out of her body, and regrow her missing limbs. And her hair. We have potion for that Master Kenobi, if your interested. From here it looks like you're a little thin on top."

"Harry, shut up!" a furious Ahsoka shouted.

"Piss off. You were just about to kill the wanker, and we need him alive. So put your bloody lightsabers away and calm down."

Potter hadn't raised his voice, but spoke with such authority that Obi-wan was reminded of Master Windu. Ahsoka deactivated her two lightsabers, and turned away. The boy... no, the man walked over and placed the two wooden sticks against his burning cheeks. At once the pain vanished. Obi-wan reached up and felt his skin: it was perfectly smooth.

"Who are you? **What** are you?"

"I'm the wizard who just saved your life. And for future reference I'm a lot older than I look. A lot older."

Obi-wan glanced over at Ahsoka, who was now sobbing. Potter didn't hesitate, and gathered her in a loose hug. At first she resisted, but then collapsed into his arms. Obi-wan was always at a loss when dealing women in emotional turmoil, and he wasn't sure what to do. Ventress solved that problem for him.

"Kenobi, make yourself useful and bring us something to drink. And I am so hungry I could eat a whole bantha, so find something edible in the pantry while you're at it."

Preparing four meals took a bit of time, and when he exited the tiny kitchen Ahsoka had regain her composure. She was still sitting next to Potter, but who was he to complain? Ventress had slept in his bed for the past year—if only for warmth.

Obi-wan was no chef, but his three guests attacked the food as they discussed something called the Elixir of Life. He was about to make a joke about barbaric potions, but then he glanced over at Ventress. How had Potter healed her so quickly without any proper Jedi training?

"It tastes like chicken."

"Harry, that joke wasn't funny the first ten times you told it."

"The key to the humor is in the repetition."

Ahsoka's lips twitched by a hair. Potter was tying to calm her down, and it seemed to be working. It had been a long time since Obi-wan last heard playful banter, even from Ventress. Would the dark times ever come to an end? Would he still be alive to see that joyous day?

"Who's leading the Rebels?" Ahsoka asked between mouthfuls of hot galoomp soup.

"I can't say for certain, but a few months ago Master Kota sent me a coded message..."

"Rahm Kota is still alive? I guess that makes sense. He always hated using the Clone Troopers for anything but cleaning the inside of a working hypermatter reactor. We should have listen to him."

"Yes, we should have," Obi-wan agreed. "It appears that Garm Bel Iblis, Mon Mothma, and Bail Organa have formed a loose triumvirate. All the various Rebel factions accept their authority. For the moment."

"You expect three Senators to win a war against the Empire they had a part in creating?"

"No, not really."

"Then why are you hiding on Tatooine of all places? Why aren't you out fighting beside Master Kota and the other surviving Jedi?"

Obi-wan shifted uneasily in his chair. "Ahsoka, you must understand that during the Clone Wars we had the resources of the entire Republic behind us. Now the Emperor controls those same resources, plus the vast wealth he plundered from the Confederacy of Independent Systems after the fighting was over. Any direct military attack against the Empire is doomed to failure."

"So you just decided to quit?"

"There are other ways of fighting. I have..."

"He's preparing to lie to us," Potter said suddenly.

As Ahsoka had joked earlier, Obi-wan was a gifted diplomat. He knew how to manipulate a conversation with verbal misdirection and humor and subtle threats. But before he could say another word a green lightsaber was again at his throat. This time he couldn't contain his anger.

"I have know you since you were three years old. I watched you grow-up in the Temple. I saved your life on a dozen separate occasions. Despite all of that shared history, you're willing to threaten me on the word of a barbarian from the Unknown Regions."

"Harry and his people saved me from a living hell. I know he is an honorable man. I can't say the same thing about you. How long did you know about _**his**_ marriage to Padme? How long did you lie to the Jedi Council and to me personally? How many died because you felt the need to protect that monster from the punishment he deserved?"

"I made a promise to Master Qui-Gon..."

"Qui-Gon is dead!" a hysterical Ahsoka screamed. "What are you hiding? Tell me now, or I will..."

"Skywalker's son is here on Tatooine," Ventress said. She dismissed Obi-wan's cold stare with a wave of her hand. "I fond of you Kenobi, and I'm not going to lose you because of that farm boy."

"What is so important about _**his**_ son?"

Potter stood and placed him hand on top of Ahsoka's. He then slowly guided her fingers until she deactivated her lightsaber. All the while he was softly whispering in her ear:

"Your friend plans on using Vader's son against him. He will either convince his father to betray the Emperor or die in the attempt. And if Vader does play a part in his own son's death, the guilt will eventually destroy him. So either way Master Kenobi wins. The plan is a bit naïve, and it might work if we give it a chance."

"Fine, we'll use him as bait," Ahsoka said coldly. "We wasted enough time here already. We'll retrieve Vader's wretched spawn, and then head back to Jabba's Palace. From there you can use the Holonet to send a message to Master Kota. I want you to arrange a meeting with this "triumvirate" as soon as possible."

Potter used his wand to levitate Ventress in the air without the least bit of difficulty. Before he could object, Obi-wan was also being herded towards the Firespray. Luckily he had been able to grab his lightsaber on his way out the door. They were dumped in the tiny cargo hold while Ahsoka seated herself in the cockpit. There was a single sleeping pad, and he tried to make Ventress comfortable. She had made a partial recovery, but not a full one.

"Where does the boy live?" Potter asked.

At that moment Obi-wan realized he was in shock, or at least something like it. For years he had agonized over Master Yoda's plans for Luke and Leia. Was their chosen course of action wise? Obi-wan could see the disdain in the wizard's green eyes, and Potter was right to feel that way. Yoda was willing to sacrifice the Skywalker twins if that was the price of defeating their father, and he had meekly accepted that decision. That... immoral decision. How could they have fallen so far from the ideals of the Jedi Code?

* * *

><p>2 May 2214<p>

"Where does the boy live?" Harry asked again.

A hundred years ago he would have let Ahsoka cut Kenobi's throat. Hell, he probably would have done it himself. But after all these years as the Chief Warlock the morality of the situation was no longer quite so clear to him. Maybe Dumbledore had been right. Maybe certain questionable acts—like the death of an innocent boy—were necessary. For the greater good.

"He lives with his Uncle and Aunt on a small moisture farm," Ventress replied. "It's a hundred and thirty klicks away from here, north by northeast."

"Good, we'll be there in five minutes," Ahsoka said from the cockpit as she began to prep the engines.

"I see Tano is just as annoying as ever."

Harry found himself liking Ventress. Her bald head was covered with several wicked tattoos, and how could you not like an old lady with tattoos? McGonagall certainly would have been more popular if she had sported a few back during her days as a Professor at Hogwarts. Their other prisoner wasn't so agreeable.

"I'm curious: how do the two of you escape from Darth Vader's flagship?" Ventress asked.

"We didn't escape from the _Devastator_, we commandeered it with the help of some friendly Wookiees."

"You commandeered an Imperial Star Destroyer? What was Vader doing while all this was going on?"

"He was fighting a duel with me. We were pretty evenly matched until Ahsoka joined in. After that he ran away like a little girl."

"He ran away?"

"Like a little girl," Harry replied. "Is the Skywalker boy going to come along willingly, or will he put up a fight?

Kenobi shook his head. "Luke loves his Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen, so he will be reluctant to leave them behind."

"Then we'll bring them along too. Leaving them here on Tatooine would be a mistake anyway. The Imperial Navy is going to be arriving soon, and they won't be happy to find that the _Devastator_ is already gone. If the Empire anything like the military dictatorships back on Earth, there will probably be mass arrests and mass executions. They'll want plenty of scapegoats for their official reports."

"What is a scape goat?" Ventress asked.

"You pick some random people out of a crowd, declare them guilty, and then shoot them. It's a way of deflecting attention away from your own incompetence."

"That sounds just like the Empire."

When they arrived at the moisture farm (where they really did farm moisture) Harry was reminded of the first time he met Hagrid. Like his younger self, Luke Skywalker seemed a bit too eager to leave home. Like Vernon Dursley, Owen Lars wanted to keep his nephew far away from the crazy wizards and their crazy wars. The man was right to feel that way. Harry decided to end the argument by stunning them.

"If you had given me a chance to explain the situation to Owen, he would have agreed to come," Kenobi complained as Harry dumped the three unconscious farmers in the cargo hold.

"We're on a tight schedule," Ahsoka snarled.

"So Potter, is there anything you can't do with your magic wand?" Ventress asked as the Firespray again took to the air.

"Is that a question, or an invitation to join you later tonight?"

There was a long moment of silence. Then Ventress laughed, Kenobi smirked, and Ahsoka rolled her eyes. Harry couldn't see her face from the cargo hold, but he was sure of her reaction.

* * *

><p>Obi-wan reached over and tried to make Owen, Beru, and Luke more comfortable. Ahsoka was a brilliant pilot, but the bulky Firespray wasn't designed for atmospheric flight. The trip only took another five minutes, and before he was ready to face the world again the access ramp in the rear of the ship opened.<p>

The scene outside beggared belief. Jabba's Palace was surrounded by hundreds of flying human beings—none of whom had jet packs or mechanical gear of any kind. The air itself was saturated with the Force. Two women, a blonde and a brunette in their late twenties, floated down from the top of the Palace and landed right in front of them. Their primitive uniforms were identical to the one Potter was wearing: leather coats, leather boots, and leather helmets... all of which were covered with bizarre symbols. Somehow Ahsoka had discovered an entire army of Force-sensitives.

"Harry, you won't believe it! This palace is actually a monastery," the brunette exclaimed in excellent Basic. "The monks are fascinating. The Great Room of the Enlightened holds hundreds of their disembodied brains, and they do nothing but pray all the time."

"Thanks for that lovely image, Hermione. Admiral Lovegood, a status report if you please."

"The Wookiees found eight small starships, nine if you count Captain Solo's freighter," the young Admiral replied. She also spoke excellent Basic. "It's a good thing too, since we will need them they to carry the seventy tanks of Bacta up to the _Devastator_. The stuff is partly organic, and the healers don't want to risk ruining its medicinal properties by subjecting it to magic. It's a sensible precaution to take."

"How many credits have you found so far?" Ahsoka asked.

"About forty million. According to the Wookiees the Hutts are afraid of thieves, so they keep the bulk of their liquid wealth at neutral banking houses scattered across the galaxy."

"Is forty million credits a lot?" Potter asked.

"Not really," Ahsoka replied. "It's enough to buy two Nebulon-B Escort Frigates, and a Nebulon-B is less than a quarter of the size of a Star Destroyer. Did you find any Spice?"

"Several hundred kilograms," the one called Hermione said.

"Good, that should double our capital if we can get a fair price on the black market. Unfortunately selling that much Spice without attracting the attention of the Empire will some take time."

Obi-wan had listened to this conversation with a growing sense of horror, but this was too much. "First you murder Jabba the Hutt and steal property that legally belongs his descendants. Now you are planning on selling Spice of all things?"

The Togruta began fiddling her one of her blue-and-white lekku. "Wars are expensive, and we need credits. In case you've forgotten _your_ former Padawan supplied the Emperor with the access codes to all the secret Jedi accounts, so we're broke."

"That's enough Ahsoka," Potter snapped. "Taunting him is a waste of time. Admiral Lovegood, I want the Wookiees to take the bald lady and our three unconscious guests up to the _Devastator_ in one of the starships. Make sure they are guarded at all times by a detachment of Aurors. Meanwhile our new friend Master Kenobi here is going to send a message to the Rebel Alliance. Hermione, please escort him to the nearest Holonet transmitter."

"Follow me," the brunette said.

After they disappeared through arched gateway of the Palace, Obi-wan instinctively reached for his lightsaber. The witch was summoning the Force with a wand much like the one Potter used. Suddenly two large beasts covered in yellow fur appeared on either side of him. Their sharp teeth and claws seemed real enough, but Obi-wan was sure they were just illusions. Then the beasts roared, covering him with hot saliva. Using the Force to create living organisms? He had never heard of anything so outlandish.

"Do you like my lions? I call them Godric and Gryffindor."

"Why are you threatening me?"

"I'm not threatening you, I just needed to get your attention. After spending three months with Ahsoka, I know how arrogant Jedi can be. What I didn't realize was that you were also suicidal."

"I'm not quite sure I'm following you, Miss Hermione."

"It's Mrs Granger, and don't take that snide tone with me young man. Your friend Ahsoka is mentally unstable, and she refuses to accept any help. My friend Harry is also mentally unstable, and he also refuses to accept any help. So if you don't take that enormous stick out of your arse, they will find an excuse to kill you."

"I'm afraid the meaning of your colloquialism escapes me." His attempt at humor was met with a look of disapproval and two more roars from the lions. They looked hungry.

Obi-wan took a deep breath and tried to evaluate the situation like a proper Jedi. He was in the middle of army. The officers of this army appeared to be young, but they claimed to be much older. Were they lying? No, Potter didn't act like a young man, nor was Mrs Granger acting like a young woman.

Of even more importance was their Force abilities. They were neither Jedi nor Sith, which made them unpredictable and dangerous. His only real option was to rely on Ahsoka's judgment. She trusted these people, so he would have to do the same if he wanted to keep Luke safe. He wasn't worried about Ventress. Even in her current condition she wouldn't need—or want—his protection.

"My apologizes madam, it has been a rather taxing day. I'm aware of the fact that Ahsoka is not well, but her current behavior reflects poorly on the Jedi. Actions like theft and peddling Spice are not worthy..."

"Your precious Order was defeated twenty years ago, and from what Ahsoka has told us you brought that defeat upon yourselves." Granger said bluntly. She then flicked her wand, causing the two lions to disappeared. "Perhaps you should spend less time worrying about the reputation of the Jedi, and more time thinking about how we can rid the galaxy of Emperor Palpatine and your friend Darth Vader."

"You make a fair point," Obi-wan conceded after a moment.

Once they reached the transmitter Granger began asking questions about everything. Not only did she speak Basic perfectly, she could also read it at a rapid pace. "That is the message you want to send? It's nothing more than a short poem."

"The Empire employees an army of élite slicers—you do know what a slicer is, don't you?" Obi-wan asked politely.

"They work with computers and computer programs."

"Yes, so if I used a standard code it would be decrypted within a matter of hours. That's not the case with this poem. Master Kota and I have known each other for many years, and we once had a heated discussion about this particular poem. Once he remembers that discussion he will be able to deduce the message I want to send."

"And what message is that?" Granger asked.

"Meet me on Dagobah."

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note<span>: I borrowed the idea of a sick Asajj Ventress coming to live with Obi-wan Kenobi on Tatooine from a short story called _Keep it Quiet_ by the author PlaidButterfly.


	5. Chapter 5

During his eventful life Obi-wan Kenobi had made a number of powerful enemies—the most notable being Darth Vader and the Emperor Palpatine. Of course he also made a number of influential friends, and for the past several hours he had used the Holonet to send hundreds of messages throughout the galaxy. Most of them were decoys, but a few were coded messages to his friends. Were any of them still alive? And if they were, would they receive these messages and be able to help? He wasn't sure, but it was worth a try while he access to Jabba's advanced communication equipment.

"Are you done?" Granger asked.

Obi-wan sighed. The only time the curious witch stopped asking questions is when she took out her hand-held mirror and started speaking in her vulgar native language. These people had such unusual ways of using the Force, and at times their actions seemed almost sacrilegious to him.

"Yes, I am," the old Jedi said as he stretched his aching muscles.

"Good. Because the _Devastator_ is fully loaded, and Ahsoka is anxious to leave Tatooine before the Imperial Navy arrives."

"Is there a ship waiting outside for us?"

Granger smiled and took him by the arm. "We're not traveling in a ship."

The Force suddenly called-out to Obi-wan. But before he could react his entire body was crushed down into a thin tube, making it impossible to move or even breath. One moment he was standing in the middle of Jabba the Hutt's Palace; the next he was in a huge room with a stark utilitarian design. As he collapsed in pain Obi-wan noticed that there were dozens of people flying around the room, and they were all wearing the same leather uniform Potter favored. How large was this army?

"You suffering from a minor heart attack," Granger muttered as she waved her wand over him. The pain in his chest slowly subsided as her so-called magic flowed into his body. "Harry thought Ahsoka was just acting like a baby when they apparated down to the surface of the planet, but you can't fake a heart attack. That's good to know."

"Where am I?"

"In outer space aboard the _Devastator_. Witches and wizards have the ability to instantaneously teleport ourselves over short distances. While it is physical unpleasant for us, it seems to be life-threatening to Jedi. Well, at least to elderly Jedi."

"That was an experiment? Were you testing me as if I was a common laboratory animal?"

"Yes, I was," Granger admitted without a bit of shame as she began writing in a small notebook. "I find the differences between magic and the Force to be fascinating. Ahsoka was never wiling to submit to any experiments, but now I have you. We'll start with the next one tomorrow morning. I'm sure you're going to love it. Right now we have to go see your friend Asajj Ventress. She's scheduled to undergo surgery, but she's refusing to coöperate with our healers. Perhaps you can talk some sense into her."

As Obi-wan got to his feet the two of them were surrounded by a number of flying men and women. At first he thought they were just soldiers, but then he noticed the looks of awe they were giving Granger. Were they prison guards for him, or an honor guard for the dignitary standing next to him?

"If I may ask, what is your position in Potter's army?"

Granger cast some sort of magical spell, and the sounds which had filled the Star Destroyer a second earlier disappear. They were replaced with perfect silence. "For your own safety there is something you should know. It is best to think of Harry Potter a minor deity—a sun god, if you will. Admiral Lovegood and I are important planets with moons of our own, but in the end we all orbit around Harry. Your friend Ahsoka has also taken-up orbit, whether she wants to admit it or not. It's a rough analogy, but it's close to the truth."

Obi-wan raised an eyebrow. "He mentioned something about a religious title when we first met, but I assumed he was joking."

"They are some people on the _Devastator_ who would kill you for even questioning Harry's quasi-divinity. Please keep that in mind in the future," Granger said as she canceled her sound-damping force field.

A few of the guards floated down and carefully placed him on a plain red carpet which was hovering a meter above the cold metal floor. Obi-wan looked for the hidden repulsors, but there weren't any to be seen.

"It's a magic carpet," Granger explained as she hopped aboard.

"Yes, of course it is," he muttered.

As they flew down the crowded corridors of the Star Destroyer, Obi-wan noticed the crew consisted mainly of three species: a few Wookiees, a lot of human beings (most of whom were flying), and a third race that was unknown to him. These short aliens had muscular bodies, pointed ears, and long fangs. With their fierce scowls and bladed weapons they looked even more intimidating than the Wookiees, which took some doing.

Granger caught him staring. "They're a species of magical beings called the Glves. Like us they're originally from a planet called Earth, although I'm not quite sure if their distant ancestors evolved naturally or if they artificially created by some insane wizard. Glves and wizards use magic in different ways, but that isn't the case with Jedi, is it?"

"No," Obi-wan replied. Despite his less-than-ideal treatment, he saw no reason to be rude. "Hundreds of different species have joined the Jedi Order during its history, and they all received the same basic training. Individual Jedi have certain strengths and weakness, but as far as I know the various Force talents are not predetermined by any innate biological differences."

"Do you subscribe to the prevailing theory that the Celestials seeded the entire galaxy with primitive lifeforms a million years ago, and that the different near-human species like the Togruta are simply the result of genetic drift?"

"It seems to be the most logical explanation, but no definitive proof exists in the historical or archaeological records."

The magic carpet soon reached one of the Star Destroyer's many elaborate sick bays. As Granger had told him, Ventress was being a lousy patient, and she was arguing with a stunningly beautiful blonde. Obi-wan was so taken with the woman that he didn't notice the approach of Owen Lars, who promptly punched him in the face. He really was getting old. In his youth he never would have been caught unaware like that.

"This is all your fault Kenobi!" Owen shouted as Granger wrapped his body in invisible bands of magic. Obi-wan was surprised to see that Luke was also in the sick bay, but he was being restrained by a young man wearing an old-fashioned Corellian uniform.

"That's enough!" the blonde shouted. "Aurors, I want Mr and Mrs Lars escorted to their stateroom. They may be muggles, but you will still treat them with respect. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Healer Delacour," the four guards replied in unison.

The furious Owen and concerned Beru were quickly taken away. Obi-wan wasn't sorry to see them go. They had never gotten along during his long exile on Tatooine.

"Mr Skywalker, do you wish to stay and observe the operation?"

Luke didn't even glance in Obi-wan's direction before nodding his head. "Yeah, I want to learn more about magic. If that's alright?"

"It is. You and Captain Solo may take a seat," Delacour said as she gave the blushing boy a radiant smile. "Hermione, I take it that this gentleman is Master Kenobi?"

"Yes, and he just had a minor heart attack."

"Starting your experiments already, you naughty witch?" Delacour asked. She then turned her smile on him. At his age he should have had more self-control, but he found himself blushing like Luke. He always did have a weakness for aristocratic blondes. "Master Kenobi, will you explain to your lady friend that we mean her no harm."

"These barbarian want to cut me open, and remove all my cybernetic implants," Ventress snarled. "I've told them the surgery isn't necessary. The implants may not be comfortable, but they work. I have no wish to become a helpless cripple at my age."

Granger took out her wand and twirled it in the air, which caused one of her sleeves and one of her trouser legs to vanish. "Do you see the light scars? I lost an arm and a leg over a hundred years ago, but we replaced them using magic. Both of my new limbs have worked perfectly since then."

"Where did you find the spare parts?" Captain Solo asked jokingly.

"After a healer ascertains the extent of a patient's injuries and takes a tissue sample, we can grow replacement limbs in about two or three weeks," Granger explained as her sleeve and pant trouser magically reappeared. "Once they are fully grown attaching them to the patient is a relatively simple procedure."

It took another hour to convince Ventress, but Obi-wan was persist. During the Clone Wars Count Dooku had turned her into a cyborg without asking for her consent. These implants increased her rage, and made her susceptible to the Dark Side of the Force. Dooku had used them to control Ventress, which meant it was possible that the Emperor could control her as well. If they were going to join the Rebels the implants had to be removed for reasons of security.

An interesting dynamic developed in the room during their long argument. Obi-wan was concerned with Ventress' health, but he was also digging for information about magic. Granger and Delacour were curious as well. They were both very intelligent, and asked as many questions as they answered. Captain Solo was eager to help in any way he could. The smitten idiot would have climbed out an airlock if Delacour asked him to.

However it was Luke who was Obi-wan's biggest concern. The boy was clearly fascinated with magic. They needed to talk about his future, and soon before they reached Dagobah.

"So you can grow body parts, medicine, and even food using his magical cloning technology of yours?" Ventress asked after she finally agreed to the operation. "Is it reliable?"

Delacour laughed. "It is so reliable that we use it to nurture our children for the first nine months of their lives."

"You skip pregnancy altogether? I like the sound of that."

"I know how you feel," Delacour smirked. "Giving birth to over four-hundred children would have ruined my lovely figure."

"Four-hundred children!" Captain Solo and Luke yelled at the same time. They both had the good grace to quickly apologize.

"How many people are aboard this Star Destroyer?" Obi-wan asked as he tried to digest all this bizarre information. "And how many of them are Force-sensitives?"

"Counting the Glves, I would say well over a million," Granger replied. "More if you include the semi-sentient beings like the dragons, the unicorns, and the kneazles."

Again Obi-wan felt a sharp pain in his chest, and Delacour rushed to his side. She said something about growing him a new heart, but he wasn't paying attention. Instead his mind was filled with thoughts of a million potential Jedi. The rebirth of the Order on such a scale would dramatically alter the balance of power in the galaxy.

If Harry Potter could be persuaded to cooperate.

But how to go about securing that cooperation? The answer was obvious: Ahsoka Tano. Shad be reminded of her loyalty to the Jedi Order before it was too late.

* * *

><p>Grand Admiral Thrawn had always found the Throne Room in the Imperial Palace on Coruscant to be boring.<p>

The dark room was dominated by a dreary throne, which sat at the top of a dreary staircase. The only decorations were four windows done in a spiderweb motif, and four Royal Guards in their scarlet uniforms. Down below—where the peons were forced to stand at attention—there was a narrow floor flanked by upwardly sloping walls. The whole design was so blatantly obvious.

Once again Thrawn reminded himself that it was not the man that he respected, it was the Sith training Palpatine had received sometime during his youth. The Sith... they were warriors of legend. Over the years Thrawn has made an extensive study of their art. It gave him the most inspiring nightmares.

The same could not be said of the art Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin collected. There was a man whose arrogance was only matched by his incompetence. Tarkin was conversing with Darth Vader, but his eyes kept darting back to Mara Jade, who was standing behind the empty throne. There were a hundred women in the Imperial Palace just as beautiful as the girl, all of whom had better dispositions. Nevertheless Tarkin coveted the vile little assassin, precisely because the Emperor had placed her off limits.

Darth Vader presented more of a puzzle. After his recent failure, Thrawn expected him to be suffering from the aftereffects of prolonged torture. But that was not the case. His movements and breathing were normal. Well, at least they were normal for someone encased in that crude cybernetic armor.

Why was the Emperor being so merciful to his servants? It was a trait he had never been known for in the past.

They waited another hour before their Master finally graced them with his presence. The Emperor swept into the room with his black robes flowing behind him. He ignored their deep bows and remained silent until he took a seat on his black throne.

"Grand Admiral Thrawn, you've had enough time to study the data collected from the Unknown Regions. What is your estimate for the number of Force-sensitives we are facing."

Given all the variables it was an impossible to answer that question with any certitude, but that was why the Emperor was asking _him_ for a number. "At least a hundred thousand individuals. Possibly more."

"Impossible," Tarkin scoffed. "You couldn't carry that many people aboard a single Star Destroyer. The life support systems would fail after a day."

"The Jedi were known to hibernate on long space voyages. They often crossed the galaxy in cramped sub-fighters."

"That's true," Vader allowed. "I believe the Grand Admiral's assessment is correct. Our new enemies could easily number in the hundreds of thousands."

Thrawn's face betrayed nothing, but he was stunned. Darth Vader's hatred for the flag officers of the Imperial Navy was well known, but here he was offering his support in an argument against the most powerful of the Moffs. What hidden game was he playing at?

"They must be found. They must be found and put to death. Every last one of them!" the Emperor raged. "As of now all your combined resources are to be focused on finding the _Devastator_ and these so-called wizards."

"What of the Rebels?" Tarkin asked quietly.

_ What a fool_, Thrawn thought to himself. Even the greenest lieutenant in the Imperial Navy knows you must divide your enemies, and defeat them in detail before they have a chance to combine their strength. _No wonder Tarkin has wasted twenty years building the Death Star. It is the only way he will ever win a battle._

"Do not question my orders. Nor are you to take unilateral action. If any one of you finds the _Devastator,_ you are to contact the other two and coördinate the final strike. Do not underestimate the threat you are facing. Tarkin, you will remain in command of the Death Star. Lord Vader will take the new Super Star Destroyer _Executor_ as his flagship. Grand Admiral Thrawn, I am assigning you fifteen additional Star Destroyers with an appropriate number of escorts. If you fail to complete this task..."

Instead of finishing the sentence, the Emperor turned his throne around towards the window behind him. It they failed they would die. That was plain enough. Of course there would also be rewards if they succeeded. As Thrawn left the Throne Room with Vader and Tarkin he speculated about those rewards.

Vader would be forgiven for losing the _Devastator_. Tarkin would be given Jade. That was the only reason she had been in the room during such an important meeting—to serve as a temptation for the lecherous old Moff. And he would be given fifteen more Star Destroyers. With a fleet of twenty Star Destroyers at his disposal there were no limits to that he could accomplish back in the Unknown Regions. The Emperor was a brutal man, but he could be generous when it served his purpose.

"So where shall we begin this merry chase?" a weary Tarkin asked as the thick armored door slammed shut behind them.

"The _Devastator_ left Tatooine twelve hours ago." Thrawn replied. "It appears that they attempted to buy information about the Rebel Alliance from a minor crime lord called Jabba the Hutt. You might be interested to know that the Hutt is now dead."

"How did you learn of this?" Vader snarled.

"I have intelligence sources which are independent of the Imperial Bureaucracy here on Coruscant, just as you do Lord Vader. Normally I would never share those sources with my rivals, but it is clear to me that the Emperor will execute us if we fail to complete this task. I suggest that we put aside our differences for the time being, and work together."

Both men agreed, but Thrawn knew they were lying. That was alright, since he was lying too.

* * *

><p>2 August 2114<p>

Admiral Luna Lovegood—arguably the most powerful and brilliant witch in the Milky Way Galaxy—was feeling giddy as a school girl. And rather horny too. Why? Because the magic of Dagobah was singing to her magical soul. It was like being back in the old Forbidden Forest, but only a hundred times better. When the _Devastator_ had limped out of hyperspace after the long trip from Tatooine she knew at once that this swampy planet would become their new home.

It took some time to convince Harry and Ahsoka of that, since they want to stay mobile. However that wasn't a realistic option. Even if the poor _Devastator_ was still in top condition (and it wasn't) the prospect of living on a Star Destroyer for the rest of their lives filled most people with horror. The presence of a twenty Spheres had made the trip across the galaxy bearable, but after only a few months it already felt like they were living inside a prison. Outer space was especially hard on the magical animals, many of whom had grown listless from the stress. A few had even died.

Faced with this mounting crisis, Harry had allowed the Glves and their dragons to travel down to the surface. It was love at first sight for the bonded pairs, and the other animals soon followed. The unicorns, the thestrals, the hippogriffs, the griffins, the redcaps, the basilisks, the pixies, the fire crabs, the imps, the crups, the gnomes, the jarveys, and even the picky kneazles—they all took to mysterious swamps as if they were born there. Some of Luna's fellow witches and wizards weren't so thrilled with the situation, but most felt as she did.

The magic of Dagobah sang to their souls too.

If only their diminutive host had better manners. From the moment he learned about "magic" the Jedi Master Yoda had started complaining about the Dark Side of the Force, and he never stopped. Frankly Luna didn't give a damn about his opinion, but their new guests from the Rebel Alliance were hanging on every one of his poorly constructed sentences. Especially the crusty Master Kota. According to Ahsoka the gray-haired human had once been Yoda's Padawan, and he shared his former teacher's distrust of magic.

Despite Kota's misgivings, the Jedi General had brought the three leaders of the Rebel Alliance to Dagobah to meet with Ahsoka and Harry. The Aurors found one of the few pieces of dry land on the planet, and set up a lavishly furnished (but non-magical) pavilion.

It was meant to be a welcoming reception. Instead the atmosphere inside the pavilion was full of barely concealed hostility. Obi-wan was trying to keep the peace, but for the most part his efforts were falling on deaf ears.

But it wasn't a lost cause just yet. For example Bail Organa was an old friend of Yoda, and he seemed inclined to accept the Jedi Master's judgment about dangers of magic. However it was clear to Luna that the tall and handsome Viceroy of Alderaan was at least willing to listen to Ahsoka before making-up his mind.

Organa had also brought along his adorable daughter, Princess Leia. Hermione and George both shared Luna's first assessment of the girl: she was a witch, and a powerful one at that. Yoda and Obi-wan knew this, but Princess Leia and her father the Viceroy did not. Could they use that interesting bit of information to their advantage?

Another possible advantage was Garm Bel Iblis, and his status as the odd man out of the triumvirate. While the other two leaders longed for a peaceful restoration of the Republic, the Senator from Corellia was committed to overthrowing the Empire by force. That made him curious about Ahsoka's plans for taking the war directly to the Imperial Navy.

And as for Mon Mothma? Well, Luna thought the redhead was sexist thing this side of a twenty year-old Veela.

"Will you please stop staring at her," George whispered.

"I can't help it," Luna whined to her husband. After decades of marriage he was use to her random infatuations, just as she was use to his. "She is so prim and proper."

"She is probably prim and proper in bed too," Hermione hissed. Unlike George, Luna's wife _was_ the jealous type. At least until some strapping young stud caught her fancy.

"That certainly wasn't the case with you, my dear."

"Children, let's try to pay attention," George pleaded. "Ahsoka is about to present our proposal for the new class of warships."

The Togruta was indeed holding court in the center of the pavilion like a queen addressing her subjects. Luna thought the Jedi was breathtakingly beautiful, but she wasn't interested in a physical relationship. Maybe Harry had a shot, but even that was a dicey prospect given their tragic personal histories.

"As we all know, space-based combat tactics have calcified in the past few hundred years," Ahsoka was saying. "Capital ships close to a range of one or two clicks, and then slug it out with their massive turbolaser batteries. The primary reason for this state of affairs is our current computer technology. Slicers can jam the guidance system of any known missile, leaving them completely vulnerable to countermeasures. Thanks to their sentient pilots smaller sub-fighters can avoid the problem of jamming, but they lack the firepower needed to take-out a modern capital ship."

"Tano, tell us something we don't know," Kota barked.

"Fine. I proposed we convert a large number of light cargo ships into missile frigates. We can have anonymous agents buy used ships at out-of-the-way spaceports in the Outer Rim. Thanks to the stupidity of the Empire, the galactic economy is now suffering from a severe depression, so the prices will be cheap. Our agents can fly these ships to hidden supply depots, where we will upgrade their hyperdrives and shields. The upgrades will allow our pilots to get close enough to a Star Destroyer to launch their missiles."

"But you just admitted that a ship that small lacks the firepower needed to damage a capital ship, nor can they carry enough missiles to make a difference," Bel Iblis remarked. "So what good will these hypothetical frigates do for the Rebel Alliance?"

"Under normal circumstances you would be correct Senator, but these aren't normal circumstances," Ahsoka replied. "Thanks to our new ally Harry Potter and his fellow wizards, we can increase the number of missiles each frigate can carry."

"What kind of numbers are we talking about?"

"Five thousand missiles... _**per**_ ship."

The pavilion erupted in chaos at this announcement, but Mon Mothma was able to restore order with nothing more than a few sharp glares. Luna was so aroused by this display of natural dominance that she wanted to jump the woman's bones right there in front of everyone. George noticed her reaction, and grabbed her slender arm before anyone got hurt.

"Master Kenobi, is this possible?" Mon Mothma asked.

"Yes, the technology does exist. I have seen it with my own eyes. As difficult as it is to believe, Master Tano and Potter can deliver on their promises."

Master Yoda began pounding the ground with his wooden walking stick. "No. No. No. A perversion of the Force, this is."

"Here we go again," George groaned.

"My old friend, perhaps you can explain your reasoning," Organa suggested. "The internal history of the Jedi Order is not something you have shared with outsiders."

"Which is one of the reasons the Emperor found it so easy to demonize your people at the end of the Clone Wars," Bel Iblis added.

"Very well," Yoda said. "Used the Force to manipulate and control their environment, others have. The Rakata and the Sith, the most notorious examples were. The Rakata created the first hyperspace engines and a monstrous weapon factory known as the Star Forge. Sith Alchemy, another example is. Corrupting, these techniques were. Soon the Empires of the Rakata and Sith became evil and destructive. The Dark Side of the Force dominated their destinies until their inevitable collapse. Destroyed them and all they built, the Dark Side did."

"What about Revan and your friend Anakin Skywalker?" Harry asked in an innocent voice that wasn't fooling anyone. "They were trained as Jedi, yet they still fell to the Dark Side. Maybe the problem isn't how a person does or does not use the Force. Maybe the problem is the darkness that lies in the heart of every sentient being."

"Ignorant child, are you," Yoda grumbled. "Understand these matters, you do not."

Ahsoka walked over to the tiny Jedi. With the added height of her two blue-and-white montrals she towered over him. "Answer his question. If the Jedi and our ideals are so superior, then why did two of our most powerful Masters fall to the Dark Side? If we are the true guardians of peace and justice, then why has the galaxy been plunged back into yet another destructive war?"

"Grand Master of the Order, I still am. Question me in this way, you may not."

Rather than argue any further, Ahsoka held out her hand with her palm facing Yoda. After a moment he raised his hand until it mirrored her's. Master Kota and Obi-wan looked as if they were going to object, but Yoda waved them off with his walking stick.

"You seek to challenge my leadership? Foolish, you are."

"Emperor Palpatine has always been a Sith Lord. He was sitting right there under your nose on Coruscant for decades, but you failed to detect his presence. Then you lead the Jedi to the worst defeat in our long history. You are old, weak, and most of all you are incompetent. Obi-wan thinks I have forgotten my duties. Very well. I am declaring myself the new Grand Master of the Jedi Order, since it's clear to me that you are no longer worthy of the title."

With that two powerful and very distinct surges of magical energy filled the pavilion. Ahsoka was attempting to drive Yoda to the ground with her telekinesis, and he was attempting to block her attack. At first they were evenly matched, but as the minutes passed the tiny alien began to buckle under the intense psychic pressure. Finally he collapsed to his knees.

And just like that, it was over.

Rather than gloat, Ahsoka calmly turned to Kota and Obi-wan. "If either of you challenges me in the future, I will not be so merciful."

"You would actually raise your lightsaber against a fellow Jedi?" a furious Kota asked. "Does the Code mean nothing to you?"

"There will be no more duels of any kind today." Mon Mothma announced. "This puerile display has only reinforced by my belief that no Jedi should hold a position of leadership within the Rebel Alliance. It is time for the three of us to leave."

"I don't think so," Bel Iblis said. "I think the new Grand Master and her friend the Chief Warlock are just allies we need."

"Is that so, Garm?"

"Yes, it is. Especially with the looming threat of the Death Star hanging over the galaxy."

"We agreed not to discuss Operation Skyhook while we were here on Dagobah," Organa said. "You are putting the lives of many of our best operatives at risk by sharing this information."

Bel Iblis closed his eyes as he tried to control his temper. "How many times do I have to explain the strategic situation to the two of you? Even if we can steal the technical plans of the Death Star, there is no guarantee that we will be able to find a weakness in its design. And even if we do find a weakness, there is no guarantee we'll be able to exploit it. In case you've forgotten, the Rebel Alliance does not have a fleet of its own."

Harry drew the Elder Wand. His spell created an ear-splitting gong that got everyone's attention. "Will someone please tell me what the bloody hell a "Death Star" is?"

What followed was utterly fascinating, at least for Luna and Hermione. A starship that was the size of a moon? And one that had enough firepower to destroy a planet with a single shot of its main weapon? As Senator Bel Iblis and Master Kota discussed what they knew of the Death Star, she tried to calculate the time and resources it would take to build the thing. With a diameter of one-hundred and sixty kilometers, gathering the raw materials alone would take her people several centuries. Even if the Empire did have a galaxy full of taxpayers and slaves to exploit, it was still a stupid idea.

"Why?" she finally had to ask. "You can sterilize the surface of a planet with a single Star Destroyer in just a few hours. Why waste so much time and money building this Death Star?"

"I am sure the Emperor could provide the Imperial Senate with a hundred reasons why we need such a battle-station, but in the end it all boils down to control," Mon Mothma explained. "As an Admiral do you command the loyalty of your subordinates?"

"Yes, I do," Luna said with complete confidence.

"I glad to say that the Emperor does not. Every time he gives the Imperial Navy another order of questionable morality, more and more officers defected to the Rebel Alliance. As the political climate has grown worse, whole units are deserting to join our cause. Make no mistake, the Death Star can and will be used to keep the civilian population of the Empire in line. But its main target is the Imperial Navy. In the past the fear of a military coup has forced the Emperor to act cautiously. Now he will reign supreme over the galaxy."

"No, he won't," Ahsoka declared. "Yoda and Obi-wan may have abandoned you, but I never will. Under my leadership the Jedi Order will fight against Palpatine and all those who serve him. For as long we have the strength to hold a single lightsaber aloft, the Jedi will fight."

"I'm with her," Harry said as stood by Ahsoka's side. "The question of the hour is are you with us?"

"Unless we want to lead our people to a certain defeat, something has to change." Bel Iblis said quietly. "Because as matters stand now, we have no chance of achieving a military victory over the Empire."

Mon Mothma stood silent for time before finally speaking. "I know the Jedi are innocent of the crimes they have been charged with, but other members of the Alliance are not so trusting. They will need assurances that this is not another ploy to gain power."

"Assurances like the capture of the Death Star?" Harry asked. "Would that help sway opinion in our direction?"

The negotiations for the new "alliance" with the Rebel Alliance dragged on for hours, but Luna wasn't wasn't paying attention. Instead she was watching Yoda. Despite what many people thought, she wasn't a Seer. She was just very observant. That was how Luna knew that the little green alien would be dead within a matter of weeks. He had that particular look in his eyes. The look of someone who had just lost their last reason to go on living.


	6. Chapter 6

27 August 2114

"So what happened to your eyes?" Ahsoka asked Kota as the old Jedi's personal _Nova_-class battlecrusier exited hyperspace high above the aquatic planet of Mon Calamari.

"We were attacking the TIE Fighter Construction Facility around Nar Shaddaa when one of Darth Vader's apprentices blinded me during an interesting duel. Galen Malek turned out to be..."

"Wait a minute!" Harry yelled. "You're _**blind**_?"

"Didn't you notice his white eyes?" an amused Ahsoka asked.

"Yes, and I also noticed that you're orange with blue-and-white tentacles coming out of your head. Compared to that, white eyes seemed pretty normal. Plus he doesn't act like a blind person."

"For the last time they are called _montrals_ and _lekku_, you witless barbarian. And Kota uses the Force to sense his surroundings."

"A Jedi can do that? Wicked."

"He is going to act this way when we meet King Lee-Char and Admiral Ackbar?" Kota asked as the sleek battlecrusier began its rapid decent through the cloudy atmosphere.

Harry grinned. "And how do I act, General Kota?"

"Like an amateur."

"You're certainly right about that. Everything I do—everything I've ever done—is for love, and not for any material reward."

Kota turned his milky white eyes towards Harry. "Boy, I know what exactly what reward you're aiming for."

Legilimency might not have worked against a Sith like Darth Vader, but it appeared that very few Force-sensitives had the strength needed to block Harry's mental probes. He decided to take a look around the General's memories, and soon found some interesting dirt.

"It looks like someone isn't the honorable Jedi he likes to present himself as. I can't say I blame you. She was very beautiful, whoever she was."

The two men were on the main bridge with Ahsoka standing between them. Now an enraged Kota activated his lightsaber and struck. Ahsoka casually parried the attack with one of her lightsabers, just as Harry knew she would. The General had been itching for a fight, so it was best to give him one before they met with the King of the Mon Calamari. The fact that they were traveling aboard the Kota's battlecrusier, surrounded by a platoon of his élite soldiers, didn't concern Harry in the least. Was he that confident in Ahsoka's new ascendance over her fellow Jedi, or was he just plain crazy? It was probably a bit of both.

"Shall I confine you to quarters... like a Padawan?"

"Is he a telepath?" a shaken Kota asked as he deactivated his lightsaber. "Can he truly read our thoughts."

"Among other things," Harry said dryly.

"Kenobi said there were over a million of them. Is that true?"

"It is," Ahsoka replied. "So perhaps attacking that their Chief Warlock wasn't such a brilliant idea on your part."

"He provoked me."

"And you allowed your emotions to dictate your response... like a Padawan. So who this mysterious woman who led you astray?"

"It was Ta'a Chume," Kota muttered under his breath.

"The Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium? That Ta'a Chume?"

"Maybe."

Ahsoka let out a long whistle. "That explains how you got your hands on this _Nova_-class battlecrusier. Would she be wiling to help the Rebel Alliance..."

"No," Kota snapped. "We didn't part under the best of terms. To be honest, if I hadn't _stolen_ this battlecrusier she would have executed me and the rest of the Militia."

"What do you expect?" Harry asked as he continued to stare into the General's white eyes. "You abandoned the poor woman and your two sons."

"Will you please stop doing that," Kota growled.

"No, I won't. So what exactly is the Hapes Consortium?"

"It's a government of over sixty star systems located in an isolated region of the Inner Rim," Ahsoka explained. "They have a powerful navy. The Hapan Battle Dragons are considered to be among the best capital ships in the galaxy, and even the Imperial Navy is reluctant to tangle with them in a fair fight. But that will change once the Rebel Alliance is defeated. They will probably be the Emperor's next target. Either them, or the Hutts."

"I smell an opportunity," Harry said gleefully. He was starting to enjoy his new life as an intergalactic warlord.

"You can forget forming any kind of alliance with the Hapes," Kota said bluntly. "They have always been strict isolationists."

"Then it's a good thing your the father of the Queen Mother's two sons. Isn't he older one the Crown Prince or something?"

"The Hapes Consortium is a strict matriarchy, so no male can inherit the throne. And Ta'a Chume has promised to killed me. No, that's not right. First she'll torture me at length. Then she'll kill me."

"That is a risk I'm willing to take," Ahsoka said. "You will leave on a diplomatic mission once Operation Skyhook is finished."

Harry looked out through one of the viewports at the planet-sized ocean below. Waiting for them on the rough waves was a massive submarine with a flat, oval-shaped platform on its roof. With its fluid curves the ship looked less like a metal machine and more like a living organism. Once the battlecrusier landed a force field sprang into place, and the submarine began to dive. After only a few minutes they reached the ocean floor, but there were still no signs of a high-tech civilization. Instead a stone outcropping began to split in two, revealing a deep and dark tunnel.

"It wasn't like this before," Ahsoka remarked as she sensed Harry's disappointment. "The underwater cities of the Mon Calamari were one of the true wonders of the galaxy. But then came the Clones Wars. Then came the Empire."

Hermione had thoughtfully prepared a history lesson for Harry before they left Dagobah. According to her research the Mon Calamari had been peaceful explorers and traders for over four thousand years. They also built some of the finest starships in the galaxy, and it was their famous shipyards that attracted the attention of the newly formed Empire.

Those shipyards and later the entire planet were soon occupied by the Imperial Navy. After a brutal guerrilla war that lasted for years the Imperials had been forced to withdrawal, but during their retreat they destroyed everything of economic value. That was why the Mon Calamari were now living in caverns at the bottom of the ocean. It was only safe refuge they had left.

The tunnel they were traveling through soon widened to reveal a city built directly into the stone walls. The artificial lights weren't very powerful, but Harry could still see hundreds of the amphibious Mon Calamari swimming about. They were kind of ugly. Perhaps not as grotesque as the Hutts, but as a species they lacked the graceful beauty of the Togruta or the Wookiees.

The submarine made its way towards an air bubble at the top of the extensive cavern. Waiting for them inside of this "dry-dock" was King Lee-Char, Admiral Ackbar, and a contingent of armed guards. Back during the Clone Wars the King had almost gotten himself killed several times, only to be saved by a certain young Jedi. Harry had spent the past few days wondering if the Mon Calamari would be willing to repay that old debt.

He shouldn't have bothered.

"General Tano, I can't believe you're still alive after all these years!" the King bellowed as he greeted Ahsoka. "With the two of us fighting together again the Empire doesn't stand a chance. As you may have heard, we rebuilt our shipyards down here on the bottom of the ocean. You won't believe how much progress we've made in converting our MC80 Star Cruisers into a warships."

Ahsoka looked taken aback by all this enthusiasm, and Harry couldn't blame her. After making some brief introductions she cut to the heart of the matter: "Yes, your Majesty, I'm well aware of how much progress your engineers have made. That is why I'm here."

"General Tano" then proceeded to explain how the entire military strategy of the Rebel Alliance had abruptly changed, and how they would no longer need such massive capital ships. Admiral Ackbar did not take the news well. He demanded to know everything about this new strategy, so they took the Mon Calamari aboard General Kota's battlecrusier. There the aliens were shown the kilometer-wide Sphere Harry had created back on Dagobah. Unlike the miniature city inside the _Hedwig_, this Sphere had plain gray walls with nothing but a tiny light source at its center.

"You can produce stable pockets of hyperspace inside a ship?" a stunned Ackbar asked as his eyes kept swiveling around the Sphere. Like the some of the amphibians back on Earth, the two eyes of the Mon Calamari could work independently of each other. "This technology could alter the balance of power in the galaxy."

"That's what we are hoping," Ahsoka said. "We were wondering if you had any _Deepwater_-class light freighters left, or did the Empire destroy them all during the occupation?"

"You can make one of these hyperspace pockets inside a freighter that is only fifty meters long?"

"Sure," Harry replied. "We put one in the _Millennium Falcon_, and that hunk of junk is only thirty-five meters long."

"The _Millennium Falcon_ is a YT-1300 freighter we have access to," Ahsoka explained. "If Harry and his people can put a Sphere inside something as old and decrepit as a YT-1300, putting one inside a modern _Deepwater_-class freighter will be a snap."

"What is your expert opinion of all this?" King Lee-Char asked his best Admiral. "Could their plan work?"

"The Empire certainly won't be expecting it," Ackbar said as he used his webbed hand to stoke the short tentacles under his chin. "The Rebel Alliance intends to follow the doctrine of Space Denial, so these new ships could be of tremendous value during hit-and-fade operations. If the technology works as promised."

"My Spheres have worked perfectly for the past one-hundred and fifteen years," Harry explained. "They can be destroyed by modern weapons, but they won't collapse under normal conditions."

"Your Majesty, I wouldn't be asking you for this favor if I wasn't certain our plans will work," Ahsoka added. "I saved your life during the Clone Wars, and you saved mine. You know you can trust me."

"Why many _Deepwaters_ do we have left?"

"Four hundred are in working condition," Ackbar told his King. "Another six hundred or so are in need of major repairs before I would allow anyone to fly them in space. Your Majesty, please keep in mind that those ships form the backbone of our commercial fleet. We need them to keep the economy from collapsing again."

"True, so I want you to expedite repairs on the damaged freighters. In the meantime I'm willing to provide the Rebel Alliance a hundred ships, with more to follow if they prove effective in actual combat. Does that sound reasonable to you, General Tano?"

"Very reasonable, your Majesty," Ahsoka said as she bowed her head in gratitude. "I promise that you won't regret this decision."

* * *

><p>The three things Han Solo enjoyed most in life—and this was in no particular order—were flying fast ships, making love to beautiful women, and winning at Sabacc. So by all rights he should have been in a great mood. He had just flow the <em>Millennium Falcon<em> right under the nose of the Imperial blockade that surrounded the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. During the long trip from Dagobah he made love to a beautiful woman. Repeatedly. She was probably the most beautiful woman he had ever been with, and that was saying something when you considered the number of women in his checkered past. Finally he was holding a great set of cards right in the middle of a rich game of Sabacc.

So why was Han miserable?

First of all the _Falcon_ was a mess. No, that wasn't true. He and Chewie had ransacked that pirated Star Destroyer, and replaced dozens of worn-out parts throughout the ship. The _Falcon_ was actually in great shape. Or at least it had been until that madman Harry Potter started working his magic. Now there was a Sphere in the middle of his cargo hold. This Sphere lead to... **somewhere**, but Han had no idea **where**. He just wanted the damn thing gone before it destroyed his ship, but that brought-up another one of his problems.

Fleur was refusing to use her magic to get rid of the Sphere. During his other affairs Han had always been the one with the upper hand, but the witch had a tendency to laugh at his demands. It was humiliating. She admitted to using her magic on him—she called it her "allure"—but she insisted he had learned to fight it off. That was probably true. When they first met he had acted like a love-struck boy, but lately he had regained his famous Corellian swagger. Still, their affair made him uneasy.

The truth was Han didn't want to resist Fleur's unique brand of magic. He had been a smuggler long enough to know screwing desperate people over for a profit wasn't any way to live. Joining the Rebel Alliance was just the start of his new life, a life that would included a wife and four or five sons. He would teach them all how to fly, and they would be handsome scoundrels just like their father.

That was all in the future though. First he had to survive this game of Sabacc.

That was going to be a problem, since he was playing with three Wookiees. Chewie was the one who had suggested the game in the first place, and Tarfful thought it was a great idea. Once they reached Kashyyyk, it had been the former slave who guided them to this remote camp where the current leader of the Wookiee Resistance lived. Kerrithrarr—the fourth player—was thrilled to see his fellow warriors again, and even more thrilled to see the supplies they brought with them from Dagobah.

Normally the _Falcon_ could barely transport a hundred tons, but Potter's new Sphere changed that. The Rebel Alliance had given him five hundred tons of medical supplies alone. Then came the forty-thousand tons of vitamin-fortified field rations, and the ninety-thousand tons of Imperial weapons. Hell, the Rebels even tossed-in twenty 74-Z speeder bikes and a disassembled AT-ST. Han didn't mind the extra work, since the Wookiees needed all the help they could get. The Imperials were always raiding the surface of Kashyyyk looking for fresh slaves.

{So Han Solo, are you going to draw or discard?} Kerrithrarr asked. The Wookiee chieftain was so tall and muscular he made Chewie look like a runt. He was also a gifted card player, but that was true of most military leaders.

"I'm staying pat." Of course he was staying pat, since he was holding a pure Sabacc of 23. "So how many of your warriors are willing to sign-up for this mission the Rebels are planning?"

{I would like to know your answer as well,} Tarfful growled as he threw down his Sabacc cards in disgust. {If the mission is successful, there is an excellent chance we'll be able to free more slaves.}

{What of the struggle here on Kashyyyk? Even with the supplies you brought the situation is still desperate. Defending our women and children from the slave traders must remain our top priority,} Kerrithrarr argued.

He then looked over at the group of female Wookiees surrounding Fleur and her latest patient. The moment she arrived on the planet the witch had started treating the sick and injured children. Thanks to the constant raids of the Empire there were plenty of both.

{The People of the Trees will never taste true freedom so long as the Empire has a weapon like the Death Star at its disposal,} Chewie argued as he too Bombed Out. {The Jedi have finally returned from their long exile. The time to act is now.}

Han checked his cards one last time to hide his surprise. He wasn't the only one whose life was changing. His best friend had never liked working for criminal scum like Jabba the Hutt. Chewie much preferred fighting the Empire. He also liked spending time with his fellow Wookiees, and was eager to find a wife of his own.

{You make an excellent point, but tell me: is your ship fast enough to run the blockade a second time?}

"Is the _Falcon_ fast enough? She's the ship that made the Kessel Run in..."

{... less than twelve parsecs,} Chewie moaned. {Do you ever get tired of telling that ridiculous story?}

"Hey, it's true!" Han protested.

Chewie rolled his eyes. {Yes, the ship is fast enough to run the blockade. He isn't lying about _that_.}

{Very well. I can spare ten-thousand warriors, but no more. The bulk of our men must stay here on the homeworld,} Kerrithrarr said as he put his cards on the table. {So Han Solo, what are you holding?}

This was the moment of truth. Like all Wookiee settlements, this camp was built on the side of a Wroshyr tree... a Wroshyr tree that was over two kilometers high. There was a good chance that Kerrithrarr would toss him off the side of this wooden platform when he lost the game. That was why no one liked playing Sabacc with Wookiees.

Luckily Kerrithrarr was not a sore loser, and he only laughed when Han claimed the case of Zeltron spiced wine the Wookiees had "liberated" from the local Imperial garrison. They thought the stuff tasted like poison, but Fleur loved the bottle Han had "liberated" from the officers lounge back on the _Devastator_.

Rather than wait around for the big Chieftain to change his mind, he took his prize back to the _Falcon, _which was parked on a nearby platform. Fleur soon joined him inside. She looked exhausted from treating patients all day, so when she sat down on his lap he began to massage her delicate shoulders.

"How did your card game go?"

"I won a case of Zeltron spiced wine, but more importantly I didn't lose the spare power core."

Fleur laughed. "You bet your ship's power core in a card game?"

"Sweetheart, I won the _Falcon_ in a card game. And it was the _spare_ power core," Han replied as his hands began to wander down her arching back. "Kerrithrarr agreed to lend the Rebels ten-thousand warriors for Operation Skyhook, which is more than I was expecting. How are your patients doing?"

"If I had any doubts about overthrowing the Empire, they vanished today. Wookiee children have no value as slaves, so the Stormtroopers use them for live target practice. Most escape, but an untreated blaster wound quickly turns septic here on Kashyyyk. That's why there are so many young amputees out there."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"I wouldn't mind a glass of that spice wine. And a nice, long sonic shower would also help clear my mind."

Han started to grin like a loon, and that was something a scoundrel was never suppose to do. But he couldn't help it. The sonic shower in the Falcon was only a meter-wide, which made for tight fit when two people showered together. A tight but very pleasant fit.

* * *

><p>It had been many years since Obi-wan Kenobi had taught anyone to do anything, so he was a bit out of practice as a Jedi Master. The poor attitude of his new Padawans wasn't helping matters, nor was the presence of Hermione Granger and her notebook. However the thing which weighed most heavily on Obi-wan was his upcoming meeting with Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore. How was she going to react to seeing him again after all these years?<p>

"Is this the extent of the Jedi educational system?" an exasperated Granger asked as Luke and Leia practiced against a pair of Marksmen-H combat remotes. "You're torturing them with those vicious little robots, so how are they suppose to learn anything? Where are the books? Where is the theory? Where is the logic?"

"Miss Granger, the most critical lesson a Jedi must learn is how to access the Force without thought... or logic."

"What an interesting teaching method you have," Leia muttered as she tried to protect herself from the combat remote with her blue lightsaber. "That statement makes no sense at all."

Obi-wan literally flinched as he felt the Princess's feelings of despair, which were quite justified under the circumstances. It seems that Ahsoka's hatred of Darth Vader extended to his two innocent children. She had taken a great deal of pleasure in telling Luke and Leia the truth about their biological father, and how he had turned to the Dark Side. And how he had slaughtered the Younglings in the Jedi Temple. And how he had killed almost killed their biological mother, Padme Amidala. And how he had hunted-down his fellow Jedi for the Emperor. And how he had spent the last nineteen-years torturing **her**. The new Grandmaster explained that it was their destiny to defeat their father... or to die in the attempt.

She then dumped their training on him.

"I have more important things to do," Ahsoka said before she flew off to Mon Calamari with Kota and Harry Potter.

How was he suppose to deal with this mess? Leia felt that a duel with Darth Vader was tantamount to suicide, while Luke was more interested in becoming a wizard than in becoming a Jedi. Potter had vetoed that idea at Ahsoka's request. The Skywalker twins were to be used as weapons against Vader, so they had to be trained as soon as possible. Producing a competent wizard would take years of schooling, and they couldn't afford to wait that long.

That was why they were all traveling together on _Tantive IV_, which belonged to the Royal House of Alderaan. Obi-wan needed to speak to Duchess Satine, but neglecting his duties as a Master for two or three weeks wasn't an option. Luke and Leia had to accompany him, and the T_antive IV_ was the only ship Bail Organa would allow his adopted daughter to use. Granger had just invited herself along. She saw the trip as an opportunity to further her study of the Jedi.

"The Force is present in all living things, and it binds us together as a unified whole. Once you learn to submit to the Force, it will guide your actions. Not simply in combat, but in all aspects of your life."

"So you want to turn us into puppets of this mystical energy field?" Leia asked. "Is that what this training is all about?"

"That doesn't sound right," Luke added. "Wizards control their magical spells. Their spells don't control them."

"No wonder the Jedi Order kidnapped children from their parents at such a young age," Granger remarked as she continued to take copious notes. "You had to indoctrinate them before they had a chance to develop any critical reasoning skills."

And so it went. Hour after hour, day after day.

Obi-wan was relieved when Captain Raymus Antilles finally announced that they had made contact with the Duchess' personal ship, the _Coronet_. Given the Empire's many spies, it many more sense to rendezvous here in deep space than on Mandalore itself.

As the two ships began the slow process of linking their airlocks, Obi-wan tried to calm himself by reaching out to the Force. It didn't work. By the time the Duchess appeared his hands were actually trembling.

Satine was just as beautiful as he remembered. Yes, her hair had gone from a golden blonde to a pure white. And yes, there were lines stretching-out from her blue eyes and her red lips. And yes, her slim waist had thickened a bit. But none of that matter. She was still the same woman he had fallen in love with all those years ago. Obi-wan longed to gather her in his arms, but that would have been a breach of protocol.

"Duchess Satine, welcome aboard the _Tantive IV_."

"General Kenobi, after the unfortunate bloodshed at the end of the Clone Wars I never thought I would see you alive again."

Neither one of them knew what to say next, so Leia broke the awkward silence by making the proper introductions. She had been trained as a diplomat by the finest tutors on Alderaan, and she was good at it. Granger wasn't. In Obi-wan's opinion the witch didn't have a tactful bone in her body, and after some mindless small talk she once again proved it.

"Master Kenobi tells us that you and your followers on Mandalore follow the philosophy of pacifism. I'm curious: how does it feel to let others die to protect your freedom?"

Leia and Luke quickly dragged the witch from the airlock, leaving Obi-wan alone with the Duchess. Again there was an awkward silence, but Satine finally found the courage to speak.

"When I received your message I was reluctant to come."

"But you did. May I ask why?"

"I had hope that our reunion would be different this time, and that you had left behind your old life as a Jedi. But I see that isn't the case. If you are traveling in the company of Viceroy Organa's daughter, than you must be working with the Rebel Alliance. At your age."

"I may be old, but I am not that old."

"Despite everything the Empire has done during the past twenty years, my beliefs have not changed Obi-wan," Satine said. "I know in my heart that violence is not the answer. It is never the answer. I am sorry, but I can play no part in this new war of yours."

And there it was. The towering wall that separated the idealistic noblewoman from the pragmatic Jedi warrior. It had kept them apart as teenagers, and it still kept them apart now. What a naïve fool he was to believe that could ever change.

"You may not be able to help me, but your fellow Mandalorians can," Obi-wan said. He could see the growing contempt in her eyes, so he buried his emotional turmoil and pushed on. "We have need of their services, and we are willing to pay handsomely."

"The Supercommandos with never fight beside the Jedi, no matter how many credits you are willing to offer them."

"We won't be paying them to fight beside the Jedi, we will be paying them to fight against the Empire. We have need of soldiers who have been trained extensively to fight in armor."

Satine shook her head. "You want proud warriors of Mandalore to wear the common white of an Imperial Stormtrooper? Trust me, that will never happen."

"The armor we had in mind is a bit more colorful."

"You want them to impersonate the Emperor's Royal Guard," Satine guessed. "That will certainly appeal to their vanity. For the sake of our friendship I will send a message to the Supercommandos, but that is all I can do. Since the rise of the Empire what little political influence I had is long gone."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. The Rebel Alliance is doomed. As are you, and all those foolish enough to follow you."

With that she turned around and returned to her ship. For the longest time Obi-wan stood at the airlock, looking out at the stars after the _Coronet_ had jumped to hyperspace. It was Granger of all people who came to see if he was alright.

"Were you in love with her?"

"Once, a long time ago."

"But because of your precious Code you stayed away."

Obi-wan laughed. It was a bitter sound. "No, I would have sacrificed everything for Satine Kryze. My duty to the Jedi Order. My lightsaber. My friends. I would have gladly sacrificed it all."

"Then why didn't you?" Granger asked.

"Because she never asked me to."

* * *

><p>28 August 2114<p>

The more Luna learned about Asajj Ventress, the more she realized that it had been a mistake to heal her many life-threatening injuries. The woman was dangerous. Too dangerous. Luna was a gifted duelist—only Harry was better—but she knew that Ventress could kill her.

She knew it in her bones.

Ventress was dangerous, but she was also useful. During the Clone Wars she had acted as a Field General for the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Despite holding such an important and prestigious post, she had never trusted the group of aliens who acted as the nominal leaders of the CIS.

"They were a bunch of vile, money-grubbing scum," was how Ventress described her now-dead superiors. "I would have spit in their faces, but it would have been a waste of moisture."

Because of this lack of trust, Ventress stolen a great deal of military equipment from the CIS. The Empire had confiscated the majority of this swag at the end of the Clone Wars, and Ventress herself had sold most of the rest during her long feud with Boba Fett. But she still had one hidden stash left near a planet called Boz Pity. Luna and George (and a hundred trusted Aurors) had volunteered to help her recover it.

"Aren't you concerned that your husband is going to see one of his old lovers?" Luna asked. It was rude question, but she wanted to keep the woman off-balance during this mission.

"Kenobi isn't my husband, and the poor Duchess was never his lover," a smirking Ventress replied as she skillfully piloted their HWK-290 transport ship towards one of the massive gas giants located beyond the orbit of inhabited Boz Pity.

Luna tried to get a rise out of her again. "You sound very confident for a woman who is bald."

"I met the Duchess Satine on several occasions. She might be in her fifties, but she is still nothing more than a simpering little girl."

"I was watching Kenobi when Ahsoka suggested that he should meet the Duchess in person. His blue eyes started to twinkle at the very idea of seeing her again."

That one hit a nerve. Luna was glad to see that she hadn't lost her touch.

"He isn't in love with _**her**_. He's in love with the idea of a peaceful domestic life she represented. The life Kenobi wanted, but could never have. He'll come back to me because he knows I'm not a simpering little girl. I'm a warrior, just like he is. Our souls are the same, whether he want to admit it or not."

"So the two of you are soul mates?" Luna asked.

"That's an odd phase, but an appropriate one in this case."

The surface of the gas giant up ahead was a lovely mixture of blue and orange and purple cloud formations. When their small starship came to a halt Ventress used the computer to broadcast a complex alpha-numeric code. After an hour or so, nine transparent bubbles began to rise-up out of those lovely clouds. At the center of each was an odd machine. It was shaped like a flat metal ring with one section cut away. At the center of each ring was a large metal ball.

"They look like half-eaten doughnuts," George said.

"What is a dough-nut?"

"A round pastry with a hole in the middle," Luna explained.

"Well, those aren't pastries. They are _Lucrehulk-_class battleships, the pride of the old Trade Federation Defense Force," Ventress explained. "Each one is over three-clicks wide."

George's eyes almost popped-out of his head. "How in the name of Merlin did you manage to steal something like that?"

"Boz Pity was one of the largest bases the CIS had during the Clone Wars, and over a hundred capital ships were stationed here at various times. Everything in the CIS military was run by droids, so reprogramming a few key computers was a simple matter for an experienced thief like me. After a major battle I would falsify certain reports, claiming that five battleships were lost instead of only four. The "lost" battleship was then flown out here by my personal droids. No one could find them because the powerful magnetic field of this particular gas giant blocks all long-range sensors."

"How did you make bubbles that large?" Luna asked.

"Like I said, the CIS had droids doing everything back during the War. I just instructed one of the automated factory units to produce thin sheets made of transparent nanofibers," Ventress explained. "The sheets were wrapped around the battleships, and then filled with gas from the atmosphere of the planet below."

Now Luna's eyes almost popped-out of her head. "And by manipulating the pressure of the gas inside the bubbles, you could drop them down to a certain level in the atmosphere, where they would float harmlessly until you needed them again."

George put his hand on Luna's shoulder. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we're getting a divorce. I have to marry her. She is the greatest prankster in the galaxy."

Ventress laughed. "Weasley, you wouldn't last a single night."

"You'd be surprise at what my husband is capable of in the bedroom," Luna said. "Why didn't you sell these battleships?"

"They're in lousy shape, and I never access to the manpower needed to repair them. If I tried selling them in their current condition, I would have gotten less than a million credits for all nine. So I decided to keep them instead."

George and Luna pressed their faces against the viewport to get a better look at the battleships inside the gas bubbles. The metal hulls were indeed covered with black scorch marks, and there were sizable holes everywhere you looked.

"How bad is the damage?" Luna asked.

"Very bad," Ventress admitted. "But I only stole ships that had working hyperdrives, so they will be able to make at least one jump."

"That's fine, because one jump is all we need."


	7. Chapter 7

31 October 2114

"Are you sure you don't want to give this to one of your children? Or grandchildren? Or great-grandchildren?" Luna asked as she ran her fingers over the bumpy surface of the Elder Wand. "You do have several thousand descendents to choose from."

"I'm not giving the Cloak to one of those brats," an invisible George declared from somewhere in the room. "He gave it to me fair-and-square, and I'm keeping it."

"If I'm still alive in a week you will give the Cloak back to me. Isn't that right Hermione?" Harry asked. He looked over at his best friend, who was staring at the Resurrection Stone sitting in the palm of her hand. "What's wrong? I thought you shared my opinion that the Stone is useless. The dead refuse to share any vital information with the living, no matter how much we beg."

"Yes, I know that," Hermione whispered. ""It's just that I never got a chance to say good-bye to Ronald. He was so important to me in so many ways."

Silently Harry listed them: Ron was Hermione's second oldest friend, her first lover, and the first git to ever break her heart. "I can't stop you from summoning him, but I do know that you'll be disappointed by the experience. Now could the three of you please give me a moment alone with Ahsoka?"

Luna, Hermione, and the now-visible George smirked at each other and then headed out to the briefing room of the _Salvation_. The Nebulon-B escort frigate was currently acting as the flagship of the Rebel Alliance, and the three members of the leadership triumvirate were waiting outside. The busybodies were here to oversee the first phase of the new and improved Operation Skyhook.

Once Harry and Ahsoka were alone he took out his other two wands: his original phoenix-feather wand, and its brother which had belong to Tom Riddle all those years ago. "You always carry two lightsabers, so keeping track of these shouldn't be a problem."

Ahsoka keep her hands behind her back. "You know, I won't mind seeing this phoenix of yours. I've heard many stories about immortal beings, but I've never seen one in the flesh."

She was stalling, but he decided to play along. "I have no idea if Fawkes is still alive. If he is, I doubt he's anxious to see me again. I killed him twice the last time we met."

"If I take them, what am I suppose to do with them?"

"Just keep them safe until we see each other again."

With a great deal of reluctance Ahsoka took the wands and placed them in one of the pockets of her skin-tight, brown-leather uniform. "I will keep them safe, but please don't read any significance into this. I know you barbarians have some odd customs out there in the Unknown Regions."

Harry closed his eyes and thought about his upcoming mission. His chances of success were slim, and he couldn't leave without saying his peace. If only he had more experience at this sort of thing. During his long life he had exactly two girlfriends: Cho Chang and Ginny Weasley. His deceased wife Parvati Potter didn't count, since their marriage had always been a political sham.

"Ahsoka... I love you," he finally blurted-out.

"Yes, I know."

Harry didn't have much experience at courting women, but even he could translate the subtext of that statement: it's not going to happen. "Thanks Ahsoka, that's just what a man wants to hear when he is facing certain death at the hands of his enemies."

"Harry, after what Vader subjected me to for all those years I can't give you want you want. Not now, maybe not ever."

"This isn't about sex..."

"With men it's always about sex."

"You're wrong," Harry snarled. "It's about revenge. It's about making them pay for what we've done to us... for what they've taken from us. Individually we are too weak to overthrow the Empire, but working together we can do it. Together we can crush Palpatine and Vader and everyone else who tries to stand in our way. Together we can shatter the foundations of this galaxy, from the darkest edge of the Outer Rim to the brightest center of the Core. Then we can build something new amid the rubble, something better. What is sex compared to all that?"

For the longest time they stared into each others eyes. Harry wanted to use Legilimency in the worst way, but if he violated Ahsoka's mind even once he would never regain her trust.

"I will consider your proposal while you're gone. When we see each other again..."

"...if we see other again..."

"...**when** we see each other again, I will give you an answer. You deserve to know where we stand."

That was a close to a victory as Harry was going to get, so he dropped the subject. "Come on, let's go deal with the politicians."

During the decades since wizards and witches had escaped from their primitive ghettos on Earth, the study of magic had undergone a renaissance of sorts. One example of the progress Harry's people had made was the Neo-Polyjuice Potion. Unlike the original potion which lasted for an hour, the new version lasted for seven days. (He really hated that number.) Needless to say, the Rebel leaders were impressed when Harry magical transformed into Lieutenant Heb Drexel in front of their eyes. The young chef was currently stationed at Imperial stronghold of Bastion, but he was being transferred to the Death Star in just a few hours.

"Are absolutely certain this disguise will hold-up to a genetic scan," General Madine asked.

Crix Madine was a former Imperial intelligence officer who had recently defected to the Rebel Alliance. It was his insider knowledge of Imperial Security which allowed the Rebels to kidnap the real Heb Drexel. Some people thought Madine was a cold fish who couldn't be trusted, but for some reason the General reminded Harry of his childhood back in the United Kingdom. Plus he had a really cool beard.

"Yes, I will be able to pass a genetic scan for the next seven days. But after that I will turn back into Harry Potter."

"This is incredible," Garm Bel Iblis remarked as he studied the new Heb Drexel. "With this method of disguise at our disposal..."

"Stop right there," Harry said. "This method of disguise is not at _your_ disposal. It is something only a wizard or witch can do, and as I've told you before we'll not be used as common foot soldiers in this war. We'll take part in a limited number of covert operations, and tactical command of those operations will always rest with me or with Admiral Lovegood. Not with you, nor with any other civilian leader of the Rebel Alliance. Now is my shuttle ready to depart?"

It was. The shuttle was old, but its Imperial transponder codes were all up-to-date. The _Salvation_ was sitting ten light-seconds away from Bastion, so the trip through hyperspace to the planet was a short one. As Harry was getting dressed in his uniform Madine went over some last-minute details.

"Remember you will be among men who were drafted by the Empire, but that doesn't mean they aren't patriots. The Imperial Navy produces excellent propaganda for its recruits, so the men you met on the Death Star will honestly believe they're serving an honorable cause."

"So I can't make any jokes about how ugly the Emperor is, or how stupid Darth Vader looks wearing a cape."

"That is correct," Madine replied without cracking a smile. "I've been watching you in the kitchen during the past few days, and you should have no trouble passing as a real chef."

Harry nodded as he began buttoning his gray tunic. Cooking had been a hobby of his for over a century, and his skill level was more than a match for any professional. Some of the ingredients and kitchen tools were different here in the Empire, but the basic principles of food preparation were the same everywhere.

"I'm not worried about the working in a kitchen. I'm worried about getting the timing right. We only have one shot at this scam."

"You have a mission to complete Mr Potter. Don't worry about aspects of the plan which you have no control over."

"That's good advice, General. I will keep it in mind."

The next few hours were both terrifying and boring at the same time.

Madine's planning had been meticulous, so "Heb Drexel" had no trouble entering the Imperial spaceport on Bastion and boarding the bulk cruiser that was departing for the Death Star. He had all the proper identification and more importantly the proper DNA, but endless security checks still took an emotional toll. Given all the Imperial firepower present, one mistake would be enough to get him killed. And he wasn't ready to die.

Not anymore.

Harry's uniform and personal belongings were seized after the bulk cruiser entered hyperspace. Everyone assigned to the Death Star was subjected to another medical scan and a full-body cavity search. The military doctors claimed these precautions were necessary to protect the health of the Death Star's enormous crew, but no one believed them. The Empire just didn't want anyone smuggling contraband aboard. After this humiliating ordeal they were issued new uniforms, and told that their personal belongings would be return after they left the Death Star. Leaving his wands behind had been a sensible precaution, and he would have to thank Madine for the warning.

The bulk cruiser itself was a disappointment, especially after living on the large and roomy _Hedwig_. The tiny rooms were overcrowded, the loo had a nasty odor, and the other soldiers were all idiots. Well, maybe not idiots. They were just young men with all the baggage that implied. "Heb Drexel" only started making friends when the conversation turned towards cooking. Luckily the other lieutenants were all from different military bases, so Harry didn't have to worry about running into any old acquaintances.

Another problem with the bulk cruiser was its lack of viewports. On the second night Harry was sleeping in his bunk when a klaxon started blaring over the loudspeakers. They were soon given orders to gather their new gear and to disembark from the ship. They had arrived at the Death Star, and Harry hadn't even gotten a look at the exterior of giant space station.

It seems the Empire was not keen on hiring interior designers. The docking bay reminded Harry of the one on the _Devastator_. Everywhere you looked there were the same metal walls, metal ceilings, and metal floors. Somehow Harry had to find his way around this monstrosity, and then infiltrate the Overbridge where Tarkin and his subordinates worked. And he had to do it in five days. Without a wand.

_This is my last __field mission. Ever._

* * *

><p>"So what do you think?" Han asked Fleur as they basked in the warm sun of his homeworld Corellia.<p>

Normally nude sunbathing wasn't his thing, especially in the middle of a crowd that numbered in the thousands. But the mixture of the salty smell of the ocean and the cool breeze did make for a soothing environment. The fact that he had spent the past hour ogling Fleur didn't hurt either. She claimed to be over a century old, but her taut body said otherwise.

"There are too many tourists, but the beach is lovely. Is this gold sand natural, or was it artificially created?"

"Of course the famous Gold Beaches of Corellia are natural. How could you suggest otherwise?"

Fleur opened just one of eyes and glanced over at him. "Maybe because this solar system has five inhabitable planets, which is the most unnatural I ever seen. If human beings didn't put the sand here, then where did it come from?"

"The local arthropods use microscopic traces of gold from the ocean floor to build their shells. Over millions of years the shells disintegrated, and the fragments collected here along the coast," Han explained. "When the earliest human settlers to arrived on Corellia they realized that these beaches were a natural wonder, and decided to preserve them for posterity."

"You know, you sound rather educated for a smuggler."

Han snorted. "Trust me sweetheart, I ain't. It's just a good story I use to tell the tourists while I was picking their pockets."

"That doesn't explain the passion in your voice. You love Corellia, just as I love my homeland of France," Fleur remarked. It was impossible to miss the sadness in her voice.

"Once this madness is finally over, I'd be glad to take you back to Earth for a visit," Han suggested.

"I doubt this madness—as you so rightly call it—will ever come to an end. What time is it?

"Almost mid-day. We should be headed back to the hotel."

They soon passed through the weak force field that surrounded the Gold Beaches. The ticklish sensation removed the gold sand from their bodies, after which they were free to dress. The Rebel Alliance had provided them with false identities, and the expensive clothes waiting in their beach cabana were just a way to maintain their cover. Walking through the streets of Tyrena looking like a foppish dandy was surreal experience for Han, who had grown-up poor in the nearby slums.

Han and Fleur had spent the past two days posing as newlyweds at one of the grand hotels that overlooked the Gold Beaches. After he settled the enormous bill (with credits provided by the Rebels) the couple headed towards the local spaceport on foot. No one questioned their decision. It was only a two-kilometer walk, and this section of Tyrena was full of architectural masterpieces that dated-back thousands of years. After about ten minutes they came across an old curio shop with a distinctive orange-colored door.

"That place looks interesting," Fleur said causally.

Han dutifully said the next line in the script they'd been given by Rebel Intelligence: "Dear, our ship leaves soon."

"We have still have some time to browse."

Waiting inside the shop was a mixture of bizarre alien artifacts and local Corellian antiques—all sporting outrageous price tags. Han immediately began flirting the proprietor of the shop. The plump woman was at least forty-years his senior, but he soon had her giggling like a schoolgirl. He glanced over at Fleur, who rolled her blue eyes at his antics.

Then she drew her wand, and tapped one of the antiques. It promptly disappeared into thin air. The whole fluid motion had taken the witch less than a second. Jumping through hoops like this struck Han as a waste of time, but Potter wanted his wizards and witches insulated from the people who actually made the bombs.

Five minutes later they were back on the street with an expensive Mon Calamari sculpture, and the happy proprietor was none the wiser.

Twenty minutes later they were onboard a luxurious passenger ship headed towards the Outer Rim.

An hour later they heard the news over the Holonet: the planetary shields of over a dozen Core worlds—including Corellia, Alderaan, and Chandrila—had been sabotaged by an unknown group of terrorists. Panic quickly began to spread among the passengers when the Holonet suddenly shut down.

"With no shields those planets will be vulnerable to pirates and asteroids and solar flares and gamma-ray bursts and..."

"Lady, just calm down," Han snapped as the ship's crew tried to get the Holonet working again. "The planetary shields haven't been destroyed, they just suffered some minor damage. The local governments will have them up-and-running again in a week or two."

"You really think so?"

"Trust me, nothing less than a full-scale invasion could destroy a planetary shield. This was just a bit of harmless vandalism."

That was also part of the script Rebel Intelligence had provided for them, but the words left a bitter taste in Han's mouth. It was true that the shields would be fixed soon, but disabling them for even a few days still felt wrong. If a natural disaster struck during that short window of vulnerability, the Rebel Alliance would be responsible for the deaths of billions of sentient beings. And _he_ would be personally responsible if anything happened to Corellia.

They only reason everyone signed-on for this crazy plan was because of the Death Star. If a bastard like the Emperor had a weapon that could destroy a planet, he was going to use it at some point. They had to get the damn thing out of commission before it was too late. That meant they needed a major crisis that would overload and crash the Holonet.

And now they had one.

Fleur took his hand and lead him back to their private cabin. Once the door was closed she was free to cast a privacy ward. "Try not to worry about Corellia. Like you said, the shield will be up again in less than a week."

"I sure hope so," Han muttered. "We made a lot of important people very angry today. If we take-out the Death Star they might be willing to forgive us. But if Operation Skyhook fails, then we just handed the Empire a huge propaganda coup."

* * *

><p>6 November 2114<p>

Harry was sitting in the middle of a starship over a hundred and sixty kilometers wide. The Death Star could transverse the galaxy in a matter of weeks, and its superlaser could obliterate a planet with a single shot. Despite all this incredible technology what had "Heb Drexel" spent the last ten hours doing? Peeling vegetables. By hand.

"You know Lieutenant, we might actually make a real chef out of you some day," Colonel Shysa remarked as he inspected the endless rows of sliced and diced vegetables. The man treated his kitchen staff like slaves, but at least he had a sense of humor.

"Why don't we have machines doing this?" Harry whined.

"Because the Grand Moff Tarkin insists that all the food served to his senior staff be prepared by hand, and no one defies the orders of a Grand Moff. No matter how cockeyed those orders might be," a grinning Shysa explained. "Now get out of my kitchen. You smell like the bottom of a garbage compactor."

After a short shower and a change of clothes, Heb Drexel disappeared from the refresher in his barracks. During the past five days Harry had been using Legilimency constantly. He needed information, and peering into the minds of the Imperial soldiers around him was the easiest way to get it.

Unfortunately most of information he gathered was useless. The interior of the Death Star was full of uncharted hazards. Construction had been going on for twenty years, but many sections of the space station were still incomplete and would probably remain so for another twenty years.

All this meant that blind apparition was out of the question. Harry had no way of knowing if he would reappear inside a power conduit or a meter-thick wall or in the hard vacuüm of some unfinished compartment. If he wanted to reach the Overbridge he had to do it in the flesh. That was a problem, since the chefs serving on the Death Star lacked top-secret security clearance. Most doors refused to open for a lowly lieutenant like Heb Drexel.

Harry's salvation came when he discovered the deep shafts that circulated air and heat throughout the Death Star. Many of these vast structures stretched for kilometers, and he was able to fly through them at will thanks to his Disillusionment Charm. Once Harry reached the specific level where the Overbridge was located, he simply waited until someone opened the door. That soon happened, because the Empire was in the right middle of a major crisis.

"What do you mean the Holonet is no longer functioning?" the Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin snarled at his terrified subordinates. "Use the priority channel to bypass the news reports emanating from the Core systems."

"Sir, that won't work since the priority channel is being used by members of the Imperial Senate to contact their individual planets. I think they are attempting to coördinate the disaster relief efforts," the communications officers explained.

"What disaster?" Tarkin roared. "They call a few harmless bombings a disaster? When the time comes I shall show those fools in the Senate what a true disaster looks like."

Now that Harry had made it inside, he continued to hover in the air while maintaining his Disillusionment Charm. It wasn't easy. In fact it was almost impossible to hold his wandless magic such a delicate balance for any length of time. However listening to Tarkin rant-and-rave like a tin-pot dictator did offer some consolation. Not only was the performance entertaining, it was also a sign that the phase two of the Operation Skyhook was a success. Hopefully phase three would begin before his magic was exhausted, and he dropped to the floor.

After an hour or so his break finally came as the various sensor panels on the Overbridge began flashing red.

"Sir, we have multiple capital ships exiting from hyperspace at a range of ninety-thousand kilometers."

"Who are they?" Tarkin asked as he looked-up at the large monitors that dominated the walls of the Overbridge. "Who would be reckless enough to attack the Death Star with a fleet of only ten ships?"

"According to our sensors we are looking at single heavily damaged Star Destroyer. It is being pursued by nine—no, make that seven _Lucrehulk_-class battleships. The hypermatter reactors on two of the bogies just went critical."

"_Lucrehulk_-class battleships in this day-and-age? Open a channel to the bridge of that Star Destroyer."

The communications officer grimaced. "Sir, the radiation from the exploding battleships is causing problems with our..."

"I don't want to hear your excuses. Open a channel."

Harry had been waiting for this moment, but the giant hologram of Emperor Palpatine's face was a still a shocking sight. So far things seemed to be going according to plan.

"Tarkin, the _Majestic_ is under attack," the holographic projection said. There was a great deal of electronic interference, but that rasping voice was unmistakable to the subjects of the Empire. "You are to use all means at your disposal to protect this Star Destroyer. I am coming aboard."

"My Lord, before I allow that you must transmit the..."

That was Harry's cue. Senator Bel Iblis and General Madine both had personal dealings with Tarkin in the past, and they agreed that he would react with skepticism to the Emperor's unscheduled appearance. It was Harry's job to crush that skepticism as quickly as possible, so he used a wandless Summoning Charm to snap the neck of the Imperial officer closest to Tarkin.

"Did you just question my orders?" the Emperor asked.

Tarkin tried again. "My Lord, security protocol dictates..."

Harry used his wandless magic to snap the neck of another officer. Murdering in cold blood like this was nauseating, but the alternative was far worse. The Death Star was single most powerful starship ever created, and any direct attack on it was doomed to failure. So he and Ahsoka decided that an indirect attack was their only real option.

After giving the matter much thought, they realized that the weakest link in the Death Star was its overly centralized command structure. All offensive and defense systems were controlled by the small crew here on the Overbridge, so that is where the battle would be won.

Or lost.

Originally Harry had planned on casting the Imperious Curse on Tarkin, but upon further reflection he doubted if the idea would work. The Grand Moff had spent decades in close contact with both the Emperor and Darth Vader, so he probably had the strength of will needed to resist mind control. And even if the Imperious Curse was effective, they was still a chance that Harry would be shot in the back by a Stormtrooper while he was trying to cast it.

"My Lord..."

Another officer died, but Harry knew that wasn't enough. He had to raise the stakes, so he began applying pressure directly to Tarkin's throat with a tightly controlled Banishing Charm. It wasn't easy, especially since he was still hovering in the air under a Disillusionment Charm. Without a wand.

"My Lord, I apologize for my impertinence," Tarkin croaked as his windpipe was slowly being crushed. "All turbolaser batteries are to commence firing on those battleships."

"Deactivate the primary shield," the Emperor hissed.

Tarkin quickly carried-out the Emperor's command by giving his officers a series of complex security codes. This was the moment Harry had waited for. Five seconds after the shield was deactivated, he was the only person left standing on the Overbridge.

* * *

><p>As the <em>Lambda<em>-class shuttle began its approach to the Death Star, Senator Garm Bel Iblis couldn't help but admire its efficient design. The sheer volume of turbolaser fire coming from the space station was so great that it blotted-out the blackness of space. Everywhere you looked where was a stream of blue plasma bolts directed at the seven automated battleships that were following them.

"I think its time for the _Devastator _to have an accident. If that particular Star Destroyer gets any closer to the Death Star, there is a chance someone might recognize it."

"Agreed," Admiral Lovegood said as she tapped a small mirror with her wand. According to the shuttle's sensors the _Devastator_ exploded just a few seconds later.

"How do you do that?" Bel Iblis asked.

"With magic. And a lot of explosives."

The small witch was dressed as one of the Emperor's purple-robed Advisors, which was only appropriate since he was pretending to be Palpatine. His new face was a quick-and-dirty surgical job, but the voice was all him. Bel Iblis had been doing killer impersonations of the bastard for years.

"How did those old _Lucrehulks_ last so long under all that punishment?"

"My people have spent the past few days covering them with protective runes," Lovegood explained as the last of the battleships exploded. "Each individual _Lucrehulk_ had a different combination of runes, so this battle gave us a chance to see which ones are the most effective."

"Can your magical runes really stop a turbolaser?"

"No, but they can trick the plasma into going somewhere else. Are you ready for your performance?"

"Yes, of course."

Lovegood stared at him with those huge eyes of hers. "I don't care if you lie to me, but you really shouldn't lie to yourself."

Bel Iblis thought about the situation for a moment. "You're right, I am scared out of my mind."

"That's better. The truth always is."

Their shuttle soon landed in one of the dozens of docking bays that dotted the surface of the Death Star. There were a hundred or so Stormtroopers present, but no high-ranking officers. Did that mean Potter's insane gamble had worked, or were they about to walk into a fatal ambush. Bel Iblis had no way of knowing for sure.

"Are your people ready?" he asked the leader of the thirty Mandalorians sitting in the back of the shuttle. The mercenaries were all dressed in the scarlet uniforms of the Royal Guard.

"Just follow our lead... your Majesty."

The Mandalorians were an arrogant bunch, but then so were the Royal Guards they were impersonating. As they left the shuttle, Bel Iblis tried one last time to straighten-out the heavy black robe he was wearing. He then marched down the exit ramp with all the confidence he could muster. The Imperial officer waiting for him dropped to one knee, which he took as a good sign.

"Take me to Tarkin."

"This way, my Lord."

Bel Iblis glanced back at Admiral Lovegood, who winked at him. She and the astromech droid had followed him down the exit ramp, and now they fell in line behind their "Master". The Mandalorians took-up standard defensive positions, and for a while he thought they were going to get away with it.

But then a problem appeared in the form of a beautiful redhead. She was standing in the middle of the last corridor between them and the Overbridge. The girl looked about sixteen years-old, but that didn't stop her from charging straight at them.

She was armed with a red lightsaber, and she knew how to use it. The Imperial officer who had been escorting them was the first to die. The Mandalorians brought their Force pikes to bare, but the girl was able to cut through them with easy. Bel Iblis looked over Lovegood, but she didn't seem interested in joining the fight. Instead the witch tapped her wand against the astromech droid, which split open to reveal a certain green Jedi Master.

"Yoda!" the redhead screamed as she cut down three more of the Mandalorians. "I should have know the Jedi were behind this deception. My Master will..."

Rather then listen to any more of the girl's threats, Yoda leapt into air.

Three meters into the air.

Whoever the girl was, she was well-trained. After killing yet another Mandalorian her red lightsaber swung towards this new threat, but a small green lightsaber appeared in Yoda's hand at the last second and parried her blow.

What followed wasn't really a proper duel. Despite his great age Yoda outclassed the girl in every way imaginable: he was quicker, more agile, and a better tactician. After only four more parries he was in the perfect position to slice deeply into her right thigh. As the girl fell, the remaining Mandalorians began stabbing her with their Force pikes.

"Stop!" Yoda declared. "Kill her, you must not."

"She butchered half of my men," the Mandalorian leader snarled. "So guess what little Jedi, we are going to kill her."

"Your contract states that you will get us to the Overbridge," Lovegood reminded them as she flicked her wand in a complex pattern. Suddenly the dead Imperial officer, the injured girl, and the dead Mandalorians all disappeared into a small leather bag she was carrying. It was like they were being sucked into a miniature black hole. "Master Yoda, please return to your hiding spot. We still might run into Darth Vader, and you'll want the element of surprise if that happens."

"Important to the future, the girl is," the old Jedi complained as he slowly climbed back inside the astromech droid.

"Don't worry, she's still alive."

"What about my men? Supercommandos never leave their fallen comrades behind on the field of battle."

"You will get their bodies back _after_ we reach my Chief Warlock," Lovegood said coldly. "Now let's move."

Potter—who still looked like Lieutenant Heb Drexel—was relieved to see them when their motley group finally entered the Overbridge. The large room was full of unconscious and dead bodies. Mostly of them were dead bodies. Once again Bel Iblis reminded himself never to get on the wizard's bad side.

"What took you so bloody long?" Potter asked as he caressed the ornate wand Lovegood gave him. "Officers from all around the Death Star are requesting information about the Emperor's unexpected visit, and I don't think they're going to wait for answers much longer."

Bel Iblis sat down at the nearest computer and went to work. He placed the entire Death Star under a communications blackout using Tarkin's command codes. The Holonet wasn't working now, but that could change at any time and a single message from Coruscant would ruin all their plans. He then sent a signal to the second _Lambda_-class shuttle which waiting behind a nearby asteroid. They quickly sent back the proper countersign.

"Our reinforcements should be here soon. Do you think we should stick to the original plan?"

"Yes, I do," Potter replied. "The soldiers assigned to the Death Star are trained to follow orders at all times. Punishments are severe, and in just the past five days I've heard of two executions. If the Emperor and Grand Moff Tarkin start giving orders, those orders will be obeyed. No matter how cockeyed they might be."

"So we go ahead with the inspection tour," Bel Iblis sighed. He wasn't looking forward to continuing this charade. "Potter, will you be impersonating Tarkin?"

"No, I will," Lovegood said as she walked over to the unconscious Grand Moff. She removed a locket of his hair with her wand, added it to glass flask, and then drank the revolting mixture in one gulp. In just a few seconds there were two Tarkins on the Overbridge, one in an Imperial uniform and the other in a set of purple robes.

"Can you really pull this off?" a skeptical Bel Iblis asked. "Being a man isn't as easy as it looks."

"Don't worry. I have plenty of experience with the Neo-Polyjuice Potion."

Potter laughed. "You should hear some of the stories I've heard from Hermione and George about her skill at role-playing."

Lovegood smiled as "he" began to undress. "I wouldn't want to have a penis all the time, but they can be fun to play with."

Despite the fact that his new magical allies were all insane, Operation Skyhook turn out to be a major success. The second _Lambda_-class shuttle landed without a hitch. Thanks to the presence of one of those hyperspace bubbles it was carrying ten-thousand Rebel troopers, and ten-thousand Wookiees for good measure.

The "Emperor" and the "Grand Moff Tarkin" soon began their inspection tour of the Death Star. All the critical departments like Communications and Engineering and Life Support were subjected to lengthy visits. It turns out that Lovegood had a rare talent for browbeating junior officers, which made the tour very realistic. When the moment was right, key personal were taken prisoner and replaced with either Rebels or Wookiees. Once they gained complete control over the internal security systems, the remaining Stormtroopers and technicians were simply locked inside of their barracks.

After a few more hours of frantic effort the Rebel Alliance assumed complete control over the Death Star.


	8. Chapter 8

When visitors saw the planet Kuat for the first time they often assumed it had a dark ring wrapped around its equator. Upon closer inspection it soon became clear this wasn't the case. What at a distance looked like a natural feature was in reality a circle of linked space stations that stretched for thousands of kilometers.

For millennia the fabled Kuat Drive Orbital Shipyard Array had produced an endless variety of star ships for the galaxy, but during the past twenty years their most important customer had been the Imperial Navy. Over half of the Star Destroyers in the fleet came from this one magnificent shipyard, which is why Grand Admiral Thrawn knew it was about to be destroyed by the Rebel Alliance.

"The Holonet is still malfunctioning," said the holographic projection of Onara Kuat, the female aristocrat who currently ruled this star system. Her family was so old and so powerful they had taken the name of the planet for themselves. "If your fleet is isolated from the rest of the galaxy, then how can you possible know that the Rebels have captured the Death Star?"

It was a logical question, but one Thrawn could not answer. The Emperor was using his Force-sensitive field agents—the Emperor's Hands, they were called—to send telepathic messages across the galaxy, and one of these agents was on his flagship, the _Admonitor_. Jeng Droga insisted that the Rebels had seized control of the Death Star, and Thrawn had no choice but to believe him. However sharing knowledge of the Emperor's secret Force abilities with an outsider was not permissible.

"I have received my orders from the Emperor himself. That is all you need know. Is your Sector Fleet going to cooperate with me or not?"

Onara Kuat was one of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in the galaxy. She had also been one first leaders to declare her support for the New Order. That meant she wasn't going to be intimidated by anyone, not even a Grand Admiral. On the other hand she was also a brilliant woman, and she knew that a threat of this importance could not be ignored.

"For the sake of argument let's assume your right. If the Rebels did somehow infiltrate the Death Star, they still would been facing thousands of the Emperor's elite Stormtroopers. A conflict like that would have caused a tremendous amount of damage, so the Death Star would be in no condition to launch any attack, let alone one against a heavily defended star system like Kuat."

"Normally you would be correct," Thrawn allowed. "However in this case the Rebels were being led by Master Yoda."

"Yoda is still alive?" an astonished Onara Kuat asked. Her reaction wasn't surprising—that particular name had inspired terror in the enemies of the Old Republic for centuries. "The Emperor told the Imperial Senate that all the Jedi Masters were dead."

"Apparently Master Yoda and a few others escaped at the end of the Clone Wars. Now they are working with the Rebel Alliance."

"Alright, **if** the Rebels have captured the Death Star and **if **they were planning on attacking Kuat, how would they do it?"

Thrawn did not hesitate, not even for a second. "The Rebels will use the gravity well of your planet to force the Death Star out of hyperspace at a point directly below your southern pole. Once they are in normal space they will immediately fire the superlaser. Not at planet itself, but rather at the Orbital Shipyard Array. The massive explosion will rip the Array out of its current obit, and destroy it without harming the civilian population on the surface of Kuat. The Death Star will then jump to hyperspace. I estimate that from beginning to end the attack will last no more than ten minutes."

"**If** that is their plan, then how do we go about stopping it?"

"We can not stop it. The Orbital Shipyard Array is a lost cause. All we can do is avenge its destruction by recapturing the Death Star."

"No, I refuse to accept that outcome," Onara Kuat sputtered. "Admiral, you are commanding a fleet of twenty modern Star Destroyers. This planet is guarded by twelve _Golan__ III_ orbital platforms. The Kuat Sector Fleet consists of thirty _Mandator_-class dreadnoughts and forty _Lancer_-class frigates. Are you going to tell me all that combined firepower is useless against one space station in the hands of an inexperienced crew of Rebel scum?"

"Nothing can stop the superlaser," Thrawn replied. "Nothing."

"My plan is to prevent the Death Star from escaping back into hyperspace by using all our Interdictor cruisers in concert," he continued. "Once their artificial gravity wells have trapped the Death Star here in normal space, we can send several legions of Stormtroopers aboard to retake command of the Overbridge. The Emperor has provided me with security codes that will deactivate the external shields and the internal security systems, so the mission should take less than twenty-four hours. It takes the Death Star that long to recharge its superlaser, so none of our capital ships will be in danger as long as we keep a safe distance. In the meantime I suggest you begin evacuating the Orbital Shipyard Array."

Onara Kuat said nothing at first, and the hologram's lack of visual resolution made it difficult to read her body language. That is why Thrawn always preferred face-to-face meetings. Regrettably there had not been enough time to take a shuttle down to planet. After a minute the old aristocrat finally came to a decision, and it was a poor one.

"I had no idea they were promoting cowards to the rank of Grand Admiral. It's a pity your fleet isn't being lead by a _human_."

Thrawn's face betrayed nothing, but his heart sank. The Emperor's hatred for "aliens" was one of his greatest flaws, and now it was going to cause a major military disaster. Onara Kuat knew she would never be punished for ignoring the advice of an "alien", no matter how sensible that advice was. The humancentric racists that dominated the New Order would never allow it.

And trying to force the issue would only lead to a greater disaster. Thrawn's Star Destroyers would end up fighting the Sector Fleet, which would do nothing to stop the Rebels. Without the assistance of Kuat's eight Interdictor cruisers, there was no possibility that his four Interdictor cruisers working alone could prevent the Death Star from escaping back into hyperspace.

"If you are refusing to cooperate with me, then what do you intend to do about the Rebel attack?"

"Our ships will maintain their current defensive perimeter. If the Rebels are foolish enough to bring the Death Star to Kuat, it will be destroyed before they have a chance to fire this so-called superlaser."

"You want to fight a conventional battle against the Death Star with dreadnoughts and frigates?" Thrawn asked.

"And with twenty Star Destroyers," Onara Kuat sneered. "I expect you to defend Kuat at all costs, Grand Admiral. If you fail to do so, my allies on Coruscant will make sure that you are executed for cowardice in the face of the enemy."

With that the holographic projection disappeared. It was a good thing too, since the red-faced Captain Parck could no longer hold his tongue. "Sir, that inbreed cretin is going to get us all killed."

Thrawn looked over at his trusted Flag Captain. "I have no intention of dying today. Do you?"

"No, but that vindictive bitch will demand that our Star Destroyers be placed in the vanguard of the battle. And the Death Star was specifically designed to destroy capital ships by the dozen."

"Which is why our assault shuttles would have slipped right past its crude defenses. Trust me Captain Parck, we will not be fighting a battle today. The Rebels are about to give the Empire a severe thrashing. All we can do is sit here and watch."

Truer words were never spoken.

Just nine hours later the Death Star appeared over the southern pole of Kuat, just were Thrawn had predicted it would. The space station fired the superlaser before any ships could reach it. A second later the giant circle of the Orbital Shipyard Array was ripped apart by a tremendous explosion. More and more pieces began to break-up as the wreckage flew away from the planet. The Kuat Sector Fleet immediately began firing at the Death Star, but they were in no position to do any real damage.

"Sir, do you really think the Jedi are in command over there?" Captain Parck whispered as the bridge crew quietly watched the disaster unfold right in front of them.

"This attack has some of their trademarks, but I believe it was spearheaded by the mysterious Harry Potter who fought against Darth Vader on the _Devastator_," Thrawn replied.

"The "wizard" from the Unknown Regions? How could he assume a leadership position within the Rebel Alliance so quickly?"

"I have studied the artwork we looted from his native planet. Potter is actually a focal point in his people's religion."

Parck was impressed. "A living-and-breathing god? That would be useful attribute for any politician."

Before the Death Star could enter hyperspace again it had to be a certain distance away from the gravity well of Kuat. As it sped away from the planet the Rebels began to release hundred and then thousands of small metal objects into space. Thrawn knew exactly what these objects were, even before the sensors of the _Admonitor_ provided him with a positive identification.

"Open a channel to Kuat!"

The bridge crew had been quiet before, but now there was absolute silence. No one could remember the Grand Admiral raising his voice, especially in the middle of combat operations. Onara Kuat's image soon appeared. As first the aristocrat seemed to be in a state of shock, but a look of rage came over her face when she saw who she was speaking to.

"What do _you_ want, alien?"

"Order your Sector Fleet to cease-fire," Thrawn snapped.

"Never. The Rebels must pay for what they have done to..."

"You had your chance to capture them, but now it is too late. As we speak thousands of escape pods are being launched from the Death Star, and they are carrying over a million members of the Imperial Navy. If _**any**_ of those men are killed by your ships during this futile pursuit, I will turn the surface of your planet into a sheet of molten glass."

"You wouldn't dare." Onara Kuat said.

"I would dare anything to protect the lives of the men who serve under my command. Captain Parck, trace this transmission to its point of origin, and prepare to open fire with the _Admonitor's_ main turbolaser batteries."

"With pleasure, Sir."

"Wait! I'm giving the order to cease-fire now."

"Thank you," Thrawn said calmly. It had taken him a moment, but he had finally regained his composure. Obstinate stupidity enraged him. "Once we have retrieved the escape pods we will transport the men to the surface of your planet. They are to be treated as honor guests until suitable transportation to the nearest Imperial base can be arranged."

"Grand Admiral, we're right in the middle of a major planetary crisis..."

"Shut up. An hour ago you may have been one of the most powerful individuals in the galaxy. Now you are nothing more than a walking corpse. Obey my orders, or your people will suffer the consequences."

* * *

><p>15 November 2114<p>

"Thank you all for doing such brilliant work," Harry said as the Death Star gracefully exited from hyperspace at the rendezvous point. The Overbridge was being staffed by three dozen Wookiees, and according to Captain Solo they liked to have their egos stroked. It seem to work, since he got a lot of happy roars in response.

"Please send a message to the dignitaries on the _Salvation_. Tell them that we are eagerly awaiting their presence here on the Rebel Alliance's newest and largest starship. And while you're at it send them a few images of our brilliant attack on Kuat."

"Also inform them that the Chief Warlock is eager to see the Jedi Grandmaster, so they should get their arses moving," Luna added. Thanks to the Neo-Polyjuice Potion she still looked like Wilhuff Tarkin, but the witch claimed that she didn't mind. According to her, the Grand Moff had a lovely singing voice.

"We did steal the bloody Death Star, and we did just blow-up the Empire's biggest shipyard without getting a scratch on the paint," Harry whined. "Excuse me if I want to brag a little."

Garm Bel Iblis shook his head, which was disturbing since he still looked like Emperor Palpatine. "We almost walked into a trap back there at Kuat. In addition to the regular Sector Fleet there were twenty extra Star Destroyers present. Somebody in the Imperial Navy knew we were coming."

"Agree, I do," Yoda added. "Faced a great danger at Kuat, we did. Lucky to escape, we were."

Unlike the other two, the Jedi Master still looked a green house-elf. Luna had thoughtfully provided him with a magic carpet, since he couldn't spend all his time traveling around inside that hollow astromech droid. Harry had a nagging feeling that his Admiral had acquired a new eight-hundred year-old familiar.

"I doubt we could have beaten that many capital ships, not with a skeleton crew of less than twenty thousand," Bel Iblis said. "We should consider postponing the attack on the Maw Installation."

"That's not going to happen. Admiral Lovegood, would you please tell the Senator about the loo problem."

"Harry, in Basic they are called refreshers."

"Whatever. Just tell him."

"As you may or may not know, the Death Star has almost eighty-thousand refreshers. According to my latest estimates, fourteen percent of them are no longer functioning."

"That happened to them?" a puzzled Bel Iblis asked.

"We ejected the maintenance workers into outer space, that's what happened," Luna replied. "Over a third of the Death Star's crew was needed just to keep the basic environmental systems up-and-running on a daily basis."

"Which means we can't afford any delays, or even more critical systems will start to break down," Harry explained. "First we are going to steal everything of value on the Death Star. Then we are going to send it off into the heart of a black hole."

"We should discuss this with the other members of the Alliance before we make any rash decisions," Bel Iblis argued.

"Fine, let's go greet our guests. They should be here soon."

The Chief Warlock, the Admiral, the Senator, and the Jedi Master left the happy Wookiees in charge of the Overbridge and flew down to the docking bay. The _Salvation_ was too large to enter the Death Star, so Hermione and George decided to bring everyone over in the _Hedwig_. During the past few months the starship had undergone yet another overhaul: it now had an ion engine and a hyperdrive. However the lack of a hypermatter generator meant it could only make short-range trips using a rechargeable power core.

This deep space rendezvous with the _Salvation_ had been arranged some time ago, so the flagship was surrounded by the entire Rebel Fleet in case Harry's mission had failed. Compared to these modern ships the _Hedwig_ looked slightly ridiculous, but old bird still provoked a flood of emotions in Harry. There were so many memories lurking inside that small metal ball. Some of those memories were wonderful, but most were awful. A few were truly horrific.

Still, it would always be his starship.

Harry wanted to give Mon Mothma and Bail Organa (and Bel Iblis and Yoda) a proper spectacle, so he used the Elder Wand to transfigure the plain docking bay into something a bit more elaborate. Out of nowhere a long red carpet appeared. It was lined with forty burning torches set on golden pedestals. And as the _Hedwig_ came in for a landing it was surrounded by an honor guard consisting of a ten Welsh Green dragons, which were his personal favorites.

"Sometimes you are such a little boy," Luna grumbled as she drew her wand and went to work.

Soon exotic trees and flowers began to sprout everywhere. Next came a herd of unicorns, a flock of pixies, and a single naked sphinx. Luna then gave all the dragons bottle cork necklaces and radish earrings. As a final touch a dozen banners unfurled from the ceiling: most showed the crest of the Rebel Alliance, but the four houses of Hogwarts were also represented.

"Is that really a Slytherin banner up there?" Harry asked.

"They weren't all bad. In fact I kind of liked Daphne."

"That's because she keep Ron out your wife's bed for all those decades. Speaking of the little she-devil..."

Hermione had emerged from the _Hedwig_, and was inspecting their magical handiwork. Apparently it didn't meet her exacting standards. The plain red carpet was reworked with gold and silver thread. Harry's pedestals were replaced with multicolored glass chandeliers that floated in the air, each one with a burning flame at its center. The dragons were joined by an army of transfigured Glf warriors in their finest armor, and a dozen more banners representing the Old Republic unfurled from the ceiling.

George added a brass band full of trolls. In his defense they were all excellent musicians.

"Abuse the Force, you do," Yoda complained. "Wrong, it is."

"No wonder the Emperor wanted to get rid of the Jedi. You're all such party poopers," Harry shot back.

"Not all of us," Ahsoka said as she marched down the red and gold and silver carpet. "I believe these belong to you."

In her slim orange hands were his two other wands. Harry reached out and took them. As he did Ahsoka's fingers gently brushed against his fingers. It was a tame gesture, but he couldn't remember the last time he had been so aroused.

Unfortunately they were not alone, and Mon Mothma attempted to take charge of the situation. Harry glanced over at the woman with her pristine white robes and dignified manner. There was talk of medals being awarded, but he had gone through too much to be bought-off with trinkets. No, he wasn't going to step aside for a bunch of preening politicians. There was too much at sake.

"We don't have time for a stupid award ceremony."

"You had time to fill this docking bay with a magical menagerie," Mon Mothma said in that condescending tone of hers.

Harry held the Elder Wand in the air for everyone to see. Then with a single flick of his wrist all the transfigurations vanished. "Admiral Lovegood has prepared an inventory of high-value goods. I want them packed and off this space station in less than ten hours.

Bail Organa stepped forward to play the peacekeeper. Unlike the arrogant Mon Mothma, it was hard for Harry to dislike the genial Viceroy of Alderaan. "Perhaps you can explain to us what you intend to do with the Death Star after you leave?"

Bel Iblis could also sense the tension in the air. "Potter was been... _questioning_ Grand Moff Tarkin for the past few days. It appears the old snake has a secret research laboratory hidden inside the Maw Cluster. That's where the Empire designed and built the first Death Star prototype. Tarkin has told us about other weapon systems being developed and tested at this laboratory, which is officially called the Maw Installation. Some of them sound even worse than the Death Star."

"If memory serves, the Maw Cluster consists of several tightly packed black holes and is almost impossible for ships to navigate," Bail Organa remarked. "Is the Death Star really suited for the kind of precision flying that will be required?"

"The Maw Installation is guarded by four Star Destroyers, and main complex was built deep inside several large asteroids," Harry explained. "Only the Death Star was the firepower needed to deal with the small fleet of Star Destroyers, and the superlaser is the only weapon that can destroy the research laboratory itself. Once the attack is over we can use the Death Star's tractor beam to grab hold of the original prototype. Then we dump them both in one of the nearby black holes, and Bob's your uncle."

George raised his hand. "I was always curious: who's Bob?"

"I will explain it to you _later_," Hermione hissed.

"Mr Potter, you have no right to make a decision of this importance without consulting the other members of the Alliance," Mon Mothma said. "In my opinion the attack on Kuat was also a reckless gamble on your part. The slightest miscalculation could have caused untold civilian causalities."

Harry felt the Elder Wand in his hand. It was calling to him over and over again. _Punish the insolent muggle_. _Punish the insolent muggle_. _Punish the insolent muggle_. With a great deal of willpower he managed to push those thoughts aside. Then he created a conference table right there in the middle of the docking bay.

"Very well. Let's sit down and discuss our next move."

As Harry had suspected, Mon Mothma loved giving orders. But coming up with a workable plan of action on her own? That really didn't interest her—or most politicians for that matter—so she left the tedious details to her underlings. After a few minutes of pointless discussion, one of the Rebel officers suggested they keep the Death Star.

"We didn't want to destroy any planets, but it would be useful in a fight against the Imperial Fleet," was how the man put it.

"Admiral Lovegood, would you please tell our good friends about the _**refresher**_ problem."

Luna proceed to explain how the basic systems on the Death Star was already starting to breakdown due to a lack of proper maintenance. She then pointed out that the Rebel Alliance had neither the manpower nor the material wealth needed to keep the station working for any length of time. And even if they did, it wouldn't matter. Most of the Death Stars critical systems—like the giant hypermatter reactor and the superlaser and the complex network of hyperdrive motivators—were all unique. Even if they could afford the one-of-a-kind replacement parts, they only place that could buy them from were factories under the direct control of the Empire.

"We dealt with this situation before when we hijacked the _Devastator_," Harry explained. "We should get as much use out of the Death Star as we can, and then we should destroy it."

"We could shut down all the main systems, and hide it in some barren star system," another one of the Rebel officers suggested. "After a few years of research we might be able to get it running again on a more permanent basis."

Harry shook his head. "Admiral Lovegood, tell them about the nasty surprises we found hidden in the computers."

"According to the Wookiee slicers, there are backdoors hardwired into the every single computer system," Luna explained. "Imperial agents could easily take control of the Death Star if they managed to get onboard. As long as the this station exist, there will always be a chance that the Empire could regain control of it."

"We didn't steal the bloody thing just to hand it back to Palpatine," Harry added. "We must destroy it—preferable within the next few days. However before we do that, I suggest we pay a surprise visit to the Maw Installation."

"I trust that Harry has made his point," Ahsoka said. The Jedi Grandmaster had been silent during the entire meeting, and her words caused an uneasy stir.

"And what point is that?" Mon Mothma asked.

"That you have no military experience, and therefore are not qualified to be one of our leaders. If you and your two allies don't step down, the Jedi Order will withdrawn its support from the Alliance."

"As will my wizards and witches," Harry added. "I'm curious, are you ready to turn your back on the man who just captured the Death Star and destroyed the Shipyards of Kuat?"

"This is a coup d'état," Mon Mothma hissed.

"Call it what you will," Ahsoka said dismissively.

"I think they're right," Bel Iblis said. "We should step aside."

"How can you possibly believe that Garm?" a shocked Bail Organa asked. "We choose to call ourselves the Alliance to Restore the Republic. I want no part in installing a new Emperor or Empresses on the throne Palpatine has foisted upon the galaxy."

The Corellian Senator got out of his chair and began pacing around the table. "While I was impersonating Palpatine, I learned a few bitter truths. The first is that even the Emperor's most loyal supporters fear the man. They don't just fear his Star Destroyers, his Stormtroopers, and his spies. They fear him personally. And you know what? So do I. Every time I look in the mirror and see his face, I flinch like a scared little boy."

"The second truth is that even though his supporters fear the Emperor, they also respect him. No, they actually love him. Palpatine may be a monster, but he's an extraordinary monster. We simply aren't in his league, but Tano and Potter are. The fact that we are having this argument on the Death Star only proves that point."

"We all hate the New Order, but there is no denying that its political critique of the Old Republic was essentially correct," Ahsoka said. "The old Senate was inefficient and corrupt to boot. If we want to maintain a galaxy-wide central government, we need a strong executive. An elected monarchy in the style of Naboo—answerable to a reformed Senate—would be a reasonable compromise."

"Maybe a dual monarchy would be better," Harry suggested. "One human and one non-human... for the sake of balance."

Mon Mothma shook her head, slowly at first but then with more speed. "No, I will not be party to any of this."

"Then I'm afraid this is where we part ways," Bel Iblis said. "I will take my people—who represent the bulk of our military units—while you and Bail can continue to fight against the Empire with your more idealistic methods. We will see which side has more success."

"The Mon Calamari..."

Ahsoka cut the older woman off. "Thanks to our friendship King Lee-Char will side with me, which means Admiral Ackbar and the Mon Calamari Fleet with also side with me. And one more thing: I insist that Leia Skywalker continue with her Jedi training."

Mon Mothma and Bail Organa were both furious at being ambushed like this, and that worried Harry. Having a unified chain of command was important, but so was political legitimacy. How was the Rebel Alliance going to react when two of its most important leaders resigned in protest? He had no idea, but Ahsoka didn't seem to care. She insisted they had to make their play for leadership now while public opinion in the Rebel Fleet was behind them.

Harry watched the bitter argument continue for a few minutes before burying his head in his hands. Why couldn't he do the easy thing, and fall in love with a sweet homemaker? Why did he always fall for the crazy and ambitious ones?

* * *

><p>Darth Vader watched as Grand Admiral Thrawn gave his verbal report on the recent Battle of Kuat. Or the "Massacre at Kuat", as the reporters on the newly restored Holonet were calling it. The lengthy and detailed report also included information about the capture of the Death Star. Vader was expecting the Emperor to lash out, either with some biting comment or with Force Lightning. To his surprise neither happened. Instead Thrawn was dismissed from the Throne Room with a casual gesture.<p>

"What is your bidding, my Master?" he finally asked after the silence had stretched on for several minutes.

"According to the latest intelligence reports the Rebels have already destroyed the Maw Installation. They are using my greatest weapon against me," the Emperor said in a flat voice. "Enemies of the New Order—both inside and outside the Empire—will sense weakness when word of this disaster spreads. Instead of locating and destroying these wizards, we must first deal with the politicians."

"Will you disband the Imperial Senate?"

"No, of course not. Instead I will announce plans for a constitutional convention here on Coruscant. There will be whispers of great reforms—even a possible return to the Republic. Everyone with take this as another sign of weakness on my part. They will smell the blood in the water, and come out into the open. Even my beloved Moffs will return to Coruscant in hopes of gaining more power and independence."

"Shall I prepare the detonation charges under the Senate Chamber, or will you see to it personally?" Vader asked.

The Emperor smiled. "Good, my apprentice. It seems you remember that there are tasks which a true Sith Lord must do for himself. Like slaughtering your enemies, for example."

"This political purge is long overdue. However even if we blame everything on the Rebel Alliance, the deaths of this many prominent leaders will still provoke several armed revolts here in the Core."

"Yes, I know. That is why you and Grand Admiral Thrawn will position your fleets in key sectors _before_ we finish-off the Senate. You are to attack any planet that moves against the Empire. I want enough carnage to terrorize the galaxy into submission for the next hundred years."

"What of the wizards?" Vader asked. It was a dangerous question, but his Master seemed to be in a good mood. That was usually the case when the prospect of mass bloodshed loomed on the horizon.

"They will pay dearly for every insult they have offered me. But we must be patient for the time being. First we will consolidate our power base here in the Empire. But once that is accomplished..."

The Throne Room was soon filled with sadistic laughter, and the sound sickened Darth Vader.


End file.
